


What It Could Have Been

by TARN_76



Category: The Last of Us
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Explicit Language, F/F, F/M, I'm Bad At Tagging, I'm rewriting part II, Implied Sexual Content, PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-28
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:07:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 42
Words: 100,205
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25525657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TARN_76/pseuds/TARN_76
Summary: I think the part 2 of The Last Of Us is not that good. Here’s my take on it.Due to a major attack from an organized group of hunters, supplies are lost and Ellie goes out with others to look for more supplies. Unfortunately for her things don’t go according to plan and she gets separated. Now she runs errands for Isaac in an attempt to show she’s worth having around and so she can bargain with him. Her service in return supplies and transport. But she’s not alone. With Abby’s help maybe, just maybe she can pull it off.P.S I am still learning the site.
Relationships: Abby & Ellie (The Last of Us), Dina/Ellie (The Last of Us)
Comments: 171
Kudos: 201





	1. Attack on Jackson

**Author's Note:**

> If I misspell anything let me know. I am a human and make spelling errors.

Ellie ran to the front of Jackson. Her trusty switchblade in her back pocket and the pistol she always carried in her hands. There was no time to go to the armory. The hunters were already inside and she needed to get them out. It had been so long since the town was directly attacked everyone had grown soft. Including her. Believing this to be an impenetrable safe haven. 

Others were running to the fight like her, the only difference was she was coming to the fight from the side so she had the angle on them. Ellie took aim and shot 3 hunters. She fired at a fourth but the remaining turned their guns to her and she was forced to take cover behind a log.

She peeked out from behind and fired three shots. One shot grazed a man’s face and the other two flew by. She saw a hunter going for some of the citizens of Jackson and shot him in the back. 

Ellie released the empty magazine from her pistol and grabbed another from her bag but a punch to the side of the head knocked her to the side, sending the empty gun tumbling across the battlefield. It was the same man she’d previously grazed.

The man grabbed her throat and squeezed. Ellie grabbed his hands and worked a leg in between her and the attacker but a shot to the head sent brains and blood to her face. She kicked the body off and looked to see Dina off to the side with a gun.

Dina. They'd been friends for some years and known each other for more. Now they were a thing. But Ellie was just biding her time until she went back to Jesse. She wouldn’t get mad at him. She wasn’t going to be like one of those assholes that got possessive and called women theirs. 

Ellie by now had a full magazine in the pistol and went to fight off the rest but the others must have gotten them. Smoke could be seen wafting through the air off in the distance.

It was near where their medical center was. Joel was going over there when the attack happened. Ellie’s jog to the smoke became an outright sprint to the next fight. 

Picking up a pipe bright in by them and bashing it against the skull of one of them. She turned and dodged an arrow by a hair. She threw a rock at her head and charged the woman. Hitting her with an upward stroke with the pipe and then bright it down on her head after she fell. The pipe broke but she didn’t care.

Ellie saw where the fire was coming from. It wasn’t the medical center directly but a place for storage. She scanned the area looking for Joel but was forced back into the fighting when she dodged a machete to the face.

She ran far enough away to pull her gun out and fire three shots to his chest. The man fell over and she ripped the weapon from his dead but still warm hands. 

Ellie made a Molotov from the stuff she’d grabbed and threw it at 2 people charging her. She did a 180 and shot 2 women that shot at her. One of them managed to graze her shoulder but she’d be fine with a good night of sleep.

Three men came crashing through a window. One of them being Joel! Ellie rushed to the other man and stabbed him in the throat and shot the other guy before Joel got the chance to bash his head against the ground. She approached Joel. “I’m fine.” He was already waving her off and brushing himself off. 

“Oh shit!” Ellie and Joel jumped apart just as an explosive was thrown at them. Part of the building fell, pinning Joel. Ellie managed to dodge the falling parts and grab the machete. She charged the man and slit his throat. 

A woman came up from behind Ellie and tried to strangle her but Joel used his revolver and put a hole right in between her eyes and she dropped Ellie. “Thanks.”

Joel, with the help of Ellie got the debris off of him. “Oh shit Joel, your leg.”

He looked down and saw his shin bent. “Fuck!” He gripped his knee. If he grabbed any lower than it would cause more pain. 

A loud scream alerted them to the fight once more. “I’ll be fine.”

“Like hell. I’m staying.” 

Ellie helped Joel hobble to cover and check him over. Not much could be done with clean rags and a bottle of alcohol but Ellie be damned if she was going to not help him. She handed him the bandages before returning fire to another five guys. 

Ellie knew she killed 2 there were still three standing and she had one bullet. Taking aim she shot the biggest one in the body and threw a handful of dirt at the other’s eyes. She rushed the last one cutting the arm holding the gun and slashing his neck. 

She jumped back just in time to avoid the hit. She slashed the man she threw dirt at with the machete and went to cut him but he blocked it with the pipe. He reached forward and threw her to the ground. Ellie scrambled to get up and narrowly avoided getting her brains bashed in. She stabbed at him again, this time injuring his hand. Distracted by the wound she went in for the killing blow by running the blade through the man, so much so that it protruded from his back.

She ripped it from the man and looked at the one she shot earlier. He was on his knees but she knew better. He swung at her with an empty gun. She easily dodged it and killed him with her switchblade to the back of the head.

She headed back to Joel and that's where she stayed until she heard more footsteps and she snuck around to kill them. She jumped up to grab them. Only after she had them did she know it was Tommy and Tommy had already thrown her from behind him. 

“Jesus Ellie, trying to kill me already?” he asked as he massaged his throat.

“I didn’t know it was you. I only heard footsteps.” she explained. “Joel’s over here.”

Tommy followed her to see Joel sitting behind cover with a busted leg and a bunch of cuts. “My god.” He went to help Joel up and had him go to the medical center. Not the old Texan could fight it. 

“You should talk to Maria.” Tommy told her. She nodded and headed to her. The community would count how many were killed in hopes of knowing how many else were out there. This was a major attack though. They actually got into the town. Luckily the citizens were quick to act. Those who couldn’t fight got out of the way and those who could rushed to the front.

Maria was writing things down and running around getting things in order. When she saw Ellie approaching she stopped and gave her a quick hug. Glad to see you're still in one piece. This was a major hit.”

“Yeah, I wiped out like 18 maybe 19 of those assholes.” She told Maria.

Maria’s fall even further. “That’s over forty that attacked.”

Another man ran over to her. Aaron? Able? Ellie knows it started with an A. “We lost most of the storage for the medical center.”

“God Damn it. Meds?”

“The harder stuff is fine. But everything else was destroyed in the fire. Same with the tools. They destroyed everything. We can still work but with limited supplies it’s going to take time to patch everyone up.”

Maria nodded and put her hands on her hips. “Alight, do what you can Able.” she turned to Ellie. “You should get that looked at.”

Ellie looked at her shoulder. “I’m fine. Others need attention more than me.”

“You be safe now. I don’t want to hear you died of infection.” Maria told her as she started writing down things.

Ellie went to her little home and went to the bathroom where her medical supplies were. She grabbed alcohol to disinfect it. Halfway through stitching there were heavy knocks on her front door. 

“Fuck.” Ellie stood and opened the door to see Tommy on the other side.

“Wanted to make sure you’re ok. The Umm, medics could do that.” He pointed to the half stitched wound and curved needle in her hand.

“Maria said they were busy. I need to finish this.” 

“Well, we’re having a meeting tomorrow. Your presence would be appreciated. Joel was asking for you by the way.” He told her and walked off.

Ellie closed the door with her foot and finished her work and walked to the medical center. She found Joel lying on a bed looking very unhappy. “Tommy said you wanted to see me?” 

“I didn’t see you here.”

“Just a scratch. how’s the leg?” 

“Doctors say I’ve got to let it heal.” Ellie noted how odd it looked to see Joel in a proper medical facility. The last time he was injured it was bad. That was the world. 

“At least you can't avoid movie night.” 

“If I recall, it was you blowing off movie night.” 

Ellie let out a small laugh. “Yeah. I’ll be seeing around.


	2. damn dreams

“This is bullshit! Joel you know I can do it!” Ellie yelled at him. “I’m not a kid, I'm 19.”

“I’m just sayin’ I don’t want ya doin’ it. Tommy’s got plenty of guys willing to go out that far.” He told her.

The real issue was that the hunters destroyed a large part of their medical facilities. The wounded were treated yes, but there was a very long line to be treated. Joel was a first hand experience with lines because a busted leg wasn’t a direct threat to his life.

“No one wants to do this. No one.” Ellie countered.

“And you do?”

“I'm more experienced than most of them. I can handle my own out there. It’s not like I can get infected!” Joel’s face fell.

“I didn’t mean it like- I can do this Joel. Why send someone else out when I have the best chance of survival.” Ellie was leaning against the wall with her arms crossed.

She shook her head, mainly out of frustration. “I’m going Joel. Jackson needs the supplies and I’m not getting any better here.”

“If that’s what this is about, we can work through this!” He approaches her, giving her a weak hug. Even though they had just started making un not that long ago he took every inch that his baby girl gave him.

Ellie pushed him back. Not roughly, but firm enough that he knew to back off. “I can’t. I don’t sleep, I can’t relax. You know the best thing is for-“

“For you to talk to Alexia. She dealt with soldiers before the outbreak.” He finished her sentence.

Ellie stayed silent. She never did talk to Alexia. But it would be a waste of fucking time. Talking wasn’t going to erase the memories of all she’d done. Not of the cannibals she’d killed. The man she hacked up. The raiders heads she beat in, in front of some kids on top of it. Her body was a constant reminder of it all anyway.

Aside from the scar on her eyebrow she got a new one over the bridge of her nose from a raider hitting her in the face. She won the fight in the end but damn if her nose didn’t hurt.

Not to mention the scars on her body. Dina offhandedly mentioned that scars were sexy. But Ellie suspected that Dina was not prepared when they were in Eugene’s old weed house. The way that girl stared at her body, and it wasn’t at her boobs, she knew that much.

“I should be out there. What if I hurt Dina again? What if I send Jacob to the infirmary again? If you weren’t there with Kane I would have killed him.” She explained.

“Ellie. It’s not right!” He realized he was yelling and lowered his tone. “You shouldn’t be out there risking life and limb for them.” He said through gritted teeth.

Why the hell should a 19 year old have enough PTSD to put a Vietnam veteran to shame!? A 19 year old shouldn’t worry about accidentally hurting someone because of all their past trauma. A teen should be worried about acne, dating, prom, and maybe college if it interested her.

“When I get back I’ll talk to Alexia.” She didn’t realize she said it until she saw the Texan’s surprised face.

“Thank you.”

“Yeah yeah, just doing so you get off my case.” She huffed. “I’ll be safe.

—Time—Skip—

Ellie was at the front gate with others. Another group was going out as well but they were going east. She was going west. They were on the other end of the town leaving.

A group of four other men and a female she was all too familiar with. If she remembered it was Aiden, Aaron, Shawn and Kane. yeah that Kane. This trip was going to take a few weeks. Month if the weather pinned them or they somehow lost their horse. There was a reason these people were going. People who didn’t have families to hold them back.

Ellie didn’t think about that. Dina didn’t have anyone Truly here for her. The only reason Jesse was staying was because he had his parents to stay behind for. Most patrols took a day, the longer ones a few? But never a month away. But she knew she could handle it.

Joel was leaning on crutches. “I thought you were home. You need rest.”

“I can survive this to see you off.” He told her.

They shared an odd glance at each other. A way of saying ‘stay safe’ and ‘don’t do anything stupid with the leg’ without actually opening thier mouths. They still didn’t show anything in front of others. That was probably never going to shange.

Ellie walked off to the horse Dina was on. The girl pushed back to let Ellie take control.

The ride was quiet, with the occasional conversation. Ellie’s autopilot instances kicked in. Her eyes scanning the building they passed and her ears listening for any noises that were out of the ordinary.

“Ie, Ellie.”

Ellie looked up to Aaron. “It’s getting dark and I wanted to take a vote if we were to stop here or push further into town.”

“We can set up camp here. I can secure the area.” She told him. They were now out of their safe zone. Not that the safe zone was safe to begin with. There were always the horde migrations and the occasional runner that would wander in. It was less of a threat, but it wasn't safe. Hell! Jackson wasn’t safe.

Ellie felt an extreme amount of shame as to be caught so off. She remembered when they first arrived she bet that this place wouldn’t last a winter.

“I’ll help.” Dina was by her side.

“I’ll be fine. You can help them set up. Aaron is always dropping stuff.” the clumsy one of the group. But with a good heart and tactical mind  
, just not hands.

“Are you trying to get rid of me?” She cocked an eyebrow and faced Ellie.

“What? No. I’m just trying to, never mind. Let’s clear this place so we can rest.” Ellie and Dina went through the first few rooms with no trouble. The third posed a bigger threat. Two clickers and a runner.

Ellie approached the clicker and looked at Dina who was sneaking up on the other. With a nod they both took them out simultaneously. The runner groaned and looked at Ellie who planted a blade through its skull just as it looked up.

“That it?”

Ellie wiped the blade off on the back of her pant leg. “Yeah. We should get back.”

“Why did you go?” Dina asked her.

Ellie shrugged. Because I'm immune. Because I have survivor's guilt. I couldn’t stand living in a place that pretended that the world was ok. “I felt like it. Why did you come? Don’t you care about someone back in Jackson?”

“Yes.”

“Then you should of stayed.”

“It’s you dumbass.” She nudged Ellie. “Ellie, I care a lot about others. Like I said before Jesse’s parents are great caring people but I don’t have that connection with them. What about you and Joel? I mean you and him seemed better?”

“Something like that.” they made it back to the others and she pushed a couch in front of the door they just used.

“Any trouble we need to worry about?” Kane asked them. He was getting ready to rest.

“Two clickers and a runner.” Dina told him before sitting down and Ellie followed closely, sitting next to her.

She looked around to see Kane getting ready to rest, Aiden cleaning his gun, Aaron and Shawn were going to be out on lookout for the first half of the night. Who was going to replace them she assumed her and someone else. She hoped for Dina but didn’t want to have her tired for the next day's challenges.

Dina was making contact with her. Leaning on her shoulder. If they moved fast tomorrow they could probably make it to the hospital that Maria was talking about. Maybe it’d be a well of supplies and tools untouched for decades. A fat chance but a big hope.

Ellie looked at Dina. She was going to turn in for the night. That just meant that Dina would have to move for her to lay down. What she wasn’t expecting was for Dina to be so forward with the others around and stay with her. Then again this was Dina, the girl who kissed her in front of everyone at the dance.

Ellie fell asleep.

_Next thing she knew she was running through the snow in the town of Jackson. Her body carried her to the burning building. It was the Tipsy Bison. She shoved the Doors open to see an open restaurant with broken glass all over the ground._

_She heard that noise of a blade against flesh and ran to the source. But whenever she got close the noise came from somewhere else._

_Left, right, then left again. She collapsed to her knees and panted as though she ran a marathon. When she looked up it was her. Killing dav- DINA!_

_She was on her feet running at herself as Dina tried to fight her off. “Stop! Get off her!” Each strike went through her past self_.

“Hu?” She jolted awake breathing was labored and harsh. She looked up to see Aiden next to her.

“You’re turn to watch.” Then he went to his spot and fell asleep. Fasted sleeper in the west. She remembered all those stupid movies her and Joel would watch. Some with pistol slinging cowboys.

She got up and for a moment contemplated waking up Dina. But she could watch alone without bothering her. So she did just so.


	3. Scars

3 Weeks later

“FuckFuckFuckFuck!” Aiden yelled. They’d scraped and scrounged at everything from abandoned checkpoints to hospitals and not a damn thing was to be found. They were cold, tired, and Dina was sick.

Ellie was on the tenth floor of this picked clean hospital. Rain poured in due to the lack of ceiling above them making the floor wet. The large glass window had cracks in it giving the already abandoned feeling new meaning.

But she couldn’t get distracted. After all, they were looking at a room full of clickers. A note said they were all bitten and wanted to stay together. Guess no one disturbed the group of fucking 10 clickers.

Aaron reloaded his gun. Even if he still had three shots he wanted a full magazine in the gun. Too bad he had a tick causing him to drop the magazine. The clink to the floor attracted them all.

One nearly grabbed Aaron if not for Aiden shooting it in the head. The others followed the noise but they had guns.

A stalker crept from the hole above onto Dina. Ellie hated their very existence. She could never hear them and they always attacked when it was least convenient for them.

Without hesitation she slammed her body into the stalker. Pinning it against the wall and grabbing a chunk of concrete and bashing it until it stopped moving.

A clicker thought dead jumped up from behind and bit her right in her left shoulder. With a yell of anger and agony she ripped herself free and shot it in the face. When she looked up she saw the horrified faces of her teammates.

“Ellie! No, I’m so so sorry I should’ve-“

“Not here Dina.” Ellie was pointing to the door to leave. This place was not safe for a conversation.

“Bloody hell it's bleeding! They are going to smell it.” Kane shouted. Pointing to the shoulder.

“Why are we talking?! She's dead in a few hours.” Aiden stated.

Ellie looked at her shoulder. It was bleeding. Luckily it was a simple bite and not a chomp that took a chunk out. “We need to get out of-FUCK!”

A stalker tackled Ellie, snapping rotted yellow and black teeth at her as they smashed through the glass behind her. The fall was a few seconds but felt like forever. Ellie knew it was the end. Until she fell through the greenery and into a river?

The Stalker grabbed at her and she fought it off holding it at arm's length. She needed to kill it or get it away from her but she saw no way of doing it. Thankfully she saw something sticking out from the side and smashed the body against it.

It stopped and Ellie managed a breath before being pulled under once more. She dropped the body and focused on staying up. She looked back to see just how far away that current had dragged her. A hard slam knocked her out.

Coughing was the first thing she did. Then she opened her eyes and looked around. It was morning, or was it night? She was pretty turned around with a throbbing headache and an aching side.

Her shoulder hurt. She peeled the collar of her shirt to the side, praying it was a dream but the teeth marks were still there. Blistering and redness were starting to show. Just like before. She covered it and got a better look around. She was missing her bag leaving her with only a switchblade and pistol with seven shots.

She saw a forest. Wait, not forest but an overgrown city. There was a street sign a few yards away but trees were everywhere.

High pitched whistling broke the sounds of nature and she dove to the ground, hiding in the tall grass. “No no! Wait!”

It wasn’t one of the people she was with but they were in distress. But why?

Ellie crawled over to see it. A man with his toes on a bucket. Noose around his neck, and a bunch of people wearing brown ponchos.

“He is nested with sin.” Said the one holding the knife out before stabbing him and cutting him open. They reached in and disemboweled the guy.

Why were these nut jobs?! Sin? As in sinning like the Bible? Or did the word sin hold different meanings to them. Fuck! If they caught her... Who was she kidding by trailing off. If they caught her they would kill her. But first, they got to catch her.

She watched them. There were so many she guessed maybe a dozen? They stopped to watch someone get gutted. Killing to survive, she was all too familiar with it. But going out of your way to hang and stab one person seemed to be a bit much. Clearly this was a luxury.

One of them was near her but not facing her. She stood and slit his throat and stabbed him in the diaphragm as he fell. She pulled the bow and quiver from him and dawned her new gear. A dagger and sheath was made into the quiver strap.

The quiver was clearly custom to him with it being loose on her but at least it held the arrows. She stayed crouched as she moved to the road. Hopefully to get an idea of where she was.

Sharp whistling came from the direction she left the body. A bunch of whistling filled the air as others called back. It made shivers run up her spine. It made her feel small.

She pulled an arrow out of the loosely fitting quiver and took aim at a woman in front of her. She released the arrow and it landed in her throat. Ellie rushed forwards just as she fell and she yanked the arrow from her, notching it again.

This damned game of cat and mouse reminded her of the cannibals. Hiding and waiting to strike. Being cold and wet but patient. Waiting for them to split up to take the shot without alerting the others.

She gritted her teeth and pulled the bow string back. The adrenaline wore off long ago and now she felt it. The bite on the shoulder. Her aching back and stiff neck. She felt the water running down her forehead and dripping into her eyes.

She’d taken out so many of them but they just kept coming. Like roaches, when you think you got one four more appear. She’d leave but where she came from was a no.

That river must have flown into an underwater system that spit her out here because When she woke she was near a tunnel. She could run from them but everywhere was wide open. The streets offered no cover. The safest place was her hiding in this park with overgrown grass.

By now she was sure it was all of them. Two dozen? Three maybe? She wasn’t sure but shit she needed to look around for something. She wasn’t useful to anyone if she died.

Ellie fled across the street and broke a window to a shop. An expired energy bar to take the edge off and some rags and alcohol to patch herself up with. Overall not that much.

She realized that she still didn’t know where she was. She walked over to one of those signs. ‘You are here’. Great, where exactly was here? She looked around as if the sky would tell her.

Gunshots could be heard to her left. They were pretty loud indicating that they were fairly close. But the others he encountered used bows and arrows. She adjusted the strap again but fell right back into place and she let out a huff of defeat.

Ellie’s eyes scanned the area for something valuable. She saw another building. It was a restaurant. Fuck restaurants but maybe there would be something in there. She looked around one last time and headed in.

The place was like them all. Trashed and looted. She found a dead body with a jacket on it. WLF was on the patch. So not Fedra, she wasn’t sure if that was good or not. It was a few days old at most. A note was in his hand.

_If any of you Scar fucks get this know that I went out the way I wanted to. Not by your sick way!_   
_-Tod_

“Huh, so their scars?” Ellie put the note down and grabbed the gun from his hand. A 9mm pistol with two bullets left. She placed it where her other one would normally go and continued on. Maybe the basement had something left in it.

Ellie found herself going down creaky steps. There was almost no light but the sound of clickers and runners was unmistakable. Not to mention the smell of those damned things.

Her eyes were adjusting to the light and she could see that there were two in the back and a runner to her right. She pulled out her switchblade and stabbed it in the throat. She lowered the body before it could fall and attract the others.

She realized that one was stumbling to her and she went to get out of the way but thundering footsteps could be heard running down the stairs. If her breathing didn’t attract the blind bastards then the elephant coming sure did.

She hid to the right of the door. Hopefully this scar person would run straight into them. Like she thought the large person, probably a man ran to the clickers and they ran to her. Another set of footsteps came down. “Get the sinner- Demons!”

They saw her out the corner of their eye and hollered again. “Wolf!” She was forced to act by shooting one with her pistol. She was going to shoot the other but she was shot in the right arm with an arrow and she fell to the ground.

Ellie gritted her teeth and took aim with her pistol once more and shot the woman that was about to stab her. She turned to see the other push the infected off her and aim at the infected only to hear a click in the gun.

Without thinking Ellie notched an arrow and killed it. The figure turned to see her standing there. Another screech got their attention and pinned Ellie to the wall. It slammed it’s hand against the arrow still in her and she felt hot white pain. She could feel her right arm failing.

The snapping was getting closer and closer to her face when a pair of strong hands wrapped themselves around the thing’s throat and threw it to the ground. A boot was lifted and crushed the head of it.

They both ran up the stairs. Ellie yanked the arrow out of her and followed the stranger. Now that they were in the light she could see it was a really buff woman with a braid. God she was a mountain, even when they were laying down to hide from the other scars she was intimidating.


	4. Fight

Ellie looked over to see more scars walking around. “Two wolves came this way.” One of them said.

“So that’s why all our people were killed in the park.” said another.

Abby looked at the girl lying next to her, asking a silent question. The look she got back gave her the anwer.

Ellie pulled out the bow and arrow she took from the Scar and took aim. A quick glance to the other woman to see if she had an objection but a nod was seen and she took the shot. It went right into the head of the man he was aiming at. She pulled another arrow out and aimed at the woman farthest from them and shot her in the chest. Ellie reached back to grab another but she was out.

She put the bow on her shoulder and started sneaking up behind the third person. He started to turn around and she hid behind a car and waited. She made eye contact with the woman and shook her head. The blonde lowered herself again, telling Ellie she wasn’t going to move.

Ellie saw the man turn around and she took that opportunity to sneak up and slit his throat and drop him. “I think that’s it.” she looked to the other who stood and walked to her. God she was tall, her arms were bigger than her legs. Ellie thought.

“Who are those people?”

“Bunch of religious freaks.”

Hearing them shout about sinners was kinda a give away. “Who are you?”

“Who are you?” she gestured to Ellie with her rifle. “You aren't from here.”

“What gave it away?”

“You aren't a Scar and you sure as shit not one of us.” The way she said it made the hair on the back of her neck stand up. ‘Not one of us.’ it reminded her of all the freaks out there who would gun down others simply for not being one of them.

“You’re right. I’m not one of them and I’m not with your group… What’s your name?” Ellie and Abby were watching each other. Not raising their weapons, but not putting them down. Not that it would help. They were out in everything. But Ellie had two knives on her and she took care to remember that.

“Abby. Now who are you?”

“Ellie.”

“Ellie, what are you doing here?”

She made a face when Abby asked her the question. This was going to sound very odd but she would ask it anyway. “Where exactly is here?”

“Are you serious?”

“Yes, I was fighting some infected when I was thrown out a window and landed in a river. I woke up in the park a few hours ago.” Ok shut up now. That was already too much information divulged. She all but admitted to being alone with no backup coming.

“Shit, so that was you.” Abby was trying to figure out how this twig of a girl could take out so many of them and come out alive. She knew of groups of Wolves coming out and getting casualties on both sides but she took out a few dozen.

If she was telling the truth about being alone, they could really use more soldiers. The Scars have become relentless attacking supply transport and troop transports. They ambushed patrols and killed without mercy. It wasn’t everyday one would find a natural like this Ellie in this world.

“Seattle.”

“Shit.” Ellie breathed. That was fucking far. How far did that water take her?

“Come on.” She gestured for her to follow.

“Woh wait. Where are you going?” Ellie held a hand out.

“We’re going to the hospital.”

“I’m not going anywhere with you.” Ellie told her, maybe a bit much force considering Abby did nothing to pressure her to follow.

“Fine, you can stay here. With them.” She gestured to the dead bodies around them.

Ellie looked around to see the bodies of those who would string her up and gut her without a second thought. This was going to be a huge mistake. She thought as she started trailing behind Abby. she grabbed Arrows off the bodies as she went. Ripping them from wounds if it warranted it.

The walk was quiet. Until the sound of a truck filled the air. Abby started but Ellie called for her. “What are you doing?”

“The only ones around here are the Wolves.” She told Ellie. A little to calmly for her liking.

“And Scars apparently.” the shorter countered, pointing where they just came from.

“They don’t drive cars. They ride horses.” Abby stepped out from their hiding spot and started shouting and waving her arms around and the truck slowed and out came a few men.

“Abby, there are Scars in the area.”

“No shit, my group was attacked, all gone. Any word if Manny is alright?” She seemed genuinely concerned about this Manny character.

“He’s fine. We’re out here looking for you. Who is this? A trespasser?” the man in front of the others asked, looking at Ellie.

“Something like it.” Abby said without thinking.

“We can take it from here.” said the man.

Guns were raised and a bow was pulled back. Tension rising faster than Abby thought would happen. “Hey put the guns down! Ellie lower the bow!”

“Get them to lower their guns first!” she told her.

“God damnit lowered the guns.” Abby yelled at them. They slowly lowered them and Ellie did the same. But kept the arrow notched and her fingers on the string with the slight bit of pull on it. Ready to put one in between their eyes.

“Is that a Scar, Abby what the hell is this? Isaac will end you for helping them.” He pointed to Ellie, who was still ready to kill one of them if they made a wrong move. She watched their hands, waiting for them to make a move.

“She’s not a Scar. She took out the ones in the park.” Abby looked at Ellie then back to the man. “We were heading to the hospital but if you could give us a lift back to the stadium that would be great. We can report to Isaac.”

“Yeah, just get in.” He pointed to the back and Abby went in without a second thought. Ellie was a bit hesitant. “Come on, it’s fine.”

Ellie grabbed Abby’s extended hand and pulled her up. “I thought we were going to a hospital.”

“We were because it was the closest. Then we were going to the stadium. This just cuts out the middleman.”

“Hospital? Stadium? How big are you guys?” Ellie looked to see the harsh asphalt below. She contemplated jumping and making a run for it. She’d gotten out of worse. But that was years ago. God she sounded old. She thought when she said when she was younger.

“You’ll be fine, you’re bleeding.” Ellie grabbed her shot arm and held it. “No your left shoulder. Here let me see.” Abby reached out to offer help.

"No! I, it’s nothing. The religious ones, Scar just got me.” Ellie tried to dismiss the injury. That bite she received earlier would cause trouble if they found out. She turned her body so the bitten side was further away. Hopefully they didn’t look too close. After all the cloth over her shoulder had teeth marks.

Without warning a molotov smashed against the hood of that truck. Gunshots riddled the engine and people on horses came out with guns. These people wielded guns? What happened to bows and arrows? Abby and Ellie got low as the Truck swerved down into a trench, knocking both down.

Abby woke to the smell of smoke and the yells of Scars. She looked around to see she was on the ground near the crashed truck. Ellie was pulling the string back and shooting a Scar before turning to her and shouting for her to move and threw a molotov at one of them. Where the hell did she even pull that from? Abby questioned.

Just as she got up Ellie tackled her to the ground as a molotov was returned smashed against the truck. By sheer luck for Abby the Molotov’s content spilled onto Ellie’s left shoulder and some onto her face.

Abby pushed Ellie off to smother the flames but a Scar rushed her and she used her gun as a melee weapon and with an upward swing knocked him back and she followed through and hit him again. She turned to Ellie ripping off her Jacket , quickly dragging it through a puddle and slamming it on Ellie.

She turned her attention to the fight and grabbed a gun from the ground that miraculously had bullets and returned fire. A Scar was flanking her and just managed to knock her to the ground. Right before he could finish the job a bullet passed through his brain.

Ellie, despite being slumped against the remnants of the truck and wounded, shot her attacker with a gun from their supply they kept in the truck. That was the last thing she managed before she passed out from blood loss and trauma.

_She was running again. But this time she was running through the forest. But she wasn’t running away, she was chasing something. No, someone. She was definity chasing someone._

_She came to a patch of mud and looked at the footprints. Going north. She started the hunt again, pulling the bow from her shoulder and taking aim. She didn’t remember notching the arrow but it was there. Any thought of breathing was long gone as she chased her target._

_She vaulted over a log and took aim. How she knew he was there she didn’t know. She couldn’t see him but she could just feel it and she shot. She pushed through the shrubs and leaves to see her target lying in a pool of blood._

_It was Jesse._

She knew she was dreaming so why couldn’t she wake up?


	5. Figuring out where we are

Ellie woke with bright light shining in her eyes and her shoulder burned like hell. The bite! Ellie shot up and grabbed her shoulder. Sheets fell and she realized she was shirtless. Ellie used her right hand to grab the blanket as she looked around. A flannel shirt was sitting on a table. So were the rest of her things, except her weapons. She assumed it was for her. No one just accidentally leaves a shirt in a room, right?

Ellie got dressed and looked around for her switchblade. But she couldn’t find it. A noise alerted her and she turned to see a woman around her size with darker hair. Abby was behind her. “You shouldn’t be up yet.” The woman said.

Abby put her hand on the other woman’s arm as she pushed passed her. “Ellie, this is Mel. She was the one that took care of you.”

“Thanks,” Ellie looked around once more. “Where’s the rest of my stuff?”

“In the armory.” Abby told her.

“And my switchblade?”

“With my stuff.” Abby said.

“You should lay back down. You were out for a while.” Mel told her.

“How long was I out?” Ellie was feeling her shoulder. Moving it and trying to stretch it but the scar tissue wasn’t helping.

“Stop doing that. You were out for 2 days. We were going to give up if you didn’t show signs of getting better.” Mel opened a draw. “I need to change your bandages.”

Ellie internally groaned and sat back down. She just buttoned the damn shirt. “I’ll be outside. Isaac wants to talk to her.”

“She just woke up.”

“I’ll be fine.” Ellie said.

Once the door closed Mel went to help a struggling Ellie. “I got it.”

Mel put the shirt back on the table and started to take the bandages off. Ellie watched and looked at the wounds. When Mel had her lift her arm she winced but didn’t say anything.

“The shoulder was fucked up. I did what I could but we don’t normally treat trespassers.” Ellie saw just how fucked her shoulder was. The wound was red and blistered. She could see the flesh where skin was burned away. If she squinted she might be able to make out where she was bitten, but that might just be because she knew she was.

“How long before it’s healed?”

“Few weeks at least.” This time Ellie actually groaned.

“Who’s Isaac?”

Mel wrapped bandages around her arm. “The leader of the WLF.”

“Why does he want to see me?”

“Probably because we were going to let you die, but Abby convinced the others to not put a bullet in you. She told the others what you did and they want to confirm it.” She explained.

She handed Ellie the shirt and averted her eyes. Not that Ellie made a big deal out of it. Simply a doctor doing their job. A bit of fumbling later and she buttoned the shirt. It was a bit big but that seemed hardly important at the moment.

Ellie walked out to see Abby leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. She looked around to see they were in a building. White walls and tile floors. But it didn’t look like a hospital with how things were. “Come on, Isaac is waiting.”

They walked through different halls and took an ungodly amount to turns, so much so that she was already lost. Soon she realized that they were in the stadium.

She heard Joel say something about sports every now and then. About hundreds of people going to a stadium to watch games. She never understood why a bunch of people would spend what Joel said was a ‘shit ton of money’ to see a bunch of guys tossing around a ball. But that was in the old world.

“This is Impressive.” A whole group occupying a stadium and a hospital? They had trucks and a lot of firepower she could assume.

“Get’s pretty small once you get to know it.” Abby told her.

“Yeah.” She thought Jackson was huge, mainly because she could go anywhere she wanted without being shot for trespassing. But once she knew where everything was it did feel small. Especially when word of what you did would spread to the other end of the town before you could get there.

“How far away is Isaac?”

“Not much further. We just have to head outside and cut through the yard. Then up an elevator.” Elevator? No shit they had power but it was so casual. Is this what the world was?

Ellie followed as they walked through this area with prisoners. They were held in cells with no clothes and hid in the shadows when they walked past. Everyone had things they didn’t say out loud. But Ellie was sure to remember this.

When they were in Isaac’s office she noticed how big it was. It definitely made her feel small, but maybe it was the open space.

A man slightly taller than Abby turned and faced her. He was a black man with a scratchy voice. She watched his movement and hands, to see if he had a weapon or if he was unarmed. He was wearing a sweater.

“I heard promising things about you.” He pushed himself off the table he was leaning against. “Abby tells me you know your way around a fight. It’s no secret we are at war with the Scars. It’s also no secret we used a plentiful amount of resources keeping you alive.”

Isaac paused and watched her. Whatever she was thinking, he couldn’t tell. “I know you aren't from around here. So tell me trespasser, where are you from?”

“Boston QZ.” She wasn’t lying. She came from Boston, just didn’t live there now.

“Surely you and your group come from a location closer than Boston.”

“Yeah, somewhere around here.” This group was big and had guns. She didn’t want to accidentally tell him she had a community in Wyoming with kids. Even if it was far she didn’t want to risk it.

“They going to be looking for you? Ellie.”

She thought for a moment but the aching shoulder gave her the answer. “No.”

“Then I think that works out. Abby says you can take out Scars. If you can take out one of the footholds the Scars got.” He pointed to a map on his desk and Ellie walked over to see it. “I’ll call it even.”

“Even?”

“The amount of supplies on you. Unless you’d rather work in a kitchen.”

Work in a kitchen or in the front lines? Ellie had her mind made up before even comparing the two. “Even. Then I’ll be going back to my group.”

“So they’ll accept you back?”

“Yes.” She thought of returning. She knew for a fact that they saw her get bit. Should she return? That could breed mass chaos if they suspected that she could infect people. Joel tried so damned hard to keep it a secret. But if she did return how would it be?

“Supplies, is there anyway I could get some for my group?”

“You still owe us for saving your life. I’d worry about that foothold you need to get rid of. If you can do that alone. Prove you’re worth the trouble and I'll see about making deals.” He told her. His voice had a dangerous edge despite his calm demeanor.

“Abby, i'm sure you’ll show her around.”

Abby nodded. “Yeah, come on.”

Ellie and Abby got back in the elevator. “I can take you to my room, I gotta grab my stuff anyway.”

Hearing that made Ellie remember something. “You said you had my switchblade?”

“Yeah. Armory doesn’t hold onto things like that.”

They walked through the holding cells again. Was she really going to take out a fucking base for this guy? He seemed, not all there. But that could the same be said for her? For any survivor?

As they walked by others a woman with a gaming device walked over. “Hey Abby, how was the movie?”

“Huh?”

“You said you were watching a movie with Manny.” She said, an earbud hanging out while the other stayed in. It was loud enough Ellie could hear it.

“Oh shit. Manny’s gonna be pissed. I’ll talk with you later Whitney.” Abby said as she pushed past various WLF members.

“Who’s Manny?”

“Roommate, and annoying friend. We were supposed to watch The Last Samurai last night. He probably found something to do.” She told Ellie.

It was getting dark when they finally made it to Abby’s and Manny’s large room with a killer view of the stadium. Abby tossed something to Ellie who caught it. It was her switchblade. Out of instinct of having it in her hands she flipped the blade out, then closed it and put it in her back right pocket.

“How do you know I won’t use it on you?” Abby was a little too trusting for Ellie to like.

“Kill me and sneak out? I don’t think anyone is that stupid. Especially with your injuries.” Ellie was now focused on the pain in her shoulder.

“The base Isaac talked about.”

“It’s to the west. They set up in a warehouse. It stored something valuable because there’s wire fences around with razor wire and there’s no cover.” Abby told her.

So a big building with fencing that couldn’t be climbed over and no cover. “How many are there?”

“Not sure. Recon says three and a half to four dozen. Few patrols went missing around there.” Abby was pulling off her Jacket and throwing it somewhere in the room.

Elllie looked around and settled for looking outside. The view was still something to behold and she could see lights on for people to work at night. “You can take top. There’s no blankets on it but it’s better then the floor.”

Ellie looked at the top bunk. Well at least she wouldn’t be out there with the cult.


	6. Rescue mission

Abby and Ellie were walking to the armory when they passed two soldiers.

“Shit, can’t believe he’s missing- shsh, Hey Abby, and new person.” The first one said nervously whilst looking at the other one.

“Say, I did not know that you decided you were taking on an apprentice to teach for killing scars in the business.” He continued rambing until Abby shut them up.

“What are you saying.” 

“So you really don’t know?” ask the girl.

Ellie and Abby looked at each other and then at the other two. “Owen’s been missing since yesterday. Last seen west near the warehouse we lost a month back.” 

“Razor wire fence with no cover?” Ellie asked.

“That’d be the one.” The woman said. 

“Fuck! And why am I just hearing about it now?!” The two were taking steps back as Abby continued to walk forward. The man seemed to be hiding behind the woman but Ellie's seen men both cower and triumph. 

“The fucking survivor just came the fuck back! o-ok?!”

Abby balled her hands into fists and ran outside to this area with dogs. She signed out a dog she called Alice and then ran somewhere else. 

She marched to the armory. “Usual!” She yelled to the man behind the counter who handed her a rifle and pistol. He looked at her and slowly gave her the bow and pistol she scavenged. Abby went into a truck after calling out she was taking truck 14.

Ellie just managed to get into the truck as Abby drove off. “What are you doing?” Ellie demanded.

“Going after the Scar fucks that took him and taking back the warehouse.” Abby was heavy on the gas and breaks at least until they were out on the road.

“Abby, stop.” Ellie told her.

“Abby!” The brakes were slammed. 

“What?!”

“The warehouse is right there. Any further and they’ll hear the engine.” She pointed to the location. 

“You got a plan?” 

Ellie looked around. The clouds were dark and she knew it was going to rain. “We wait for it to rain and use it as cover.” 

“How do you know it will rain?”

“It will give it a few hours. We can watch them from there.” She pointed to a tall building with windows across the street. 

Abby and Ellie made their way up to a high enough position to give them an angle. Abby pulled out a pair of binoculars and looked around. Alice sat next to Ellie, who scratched her head while keeping an eye on the building.

The damn place was definitely a fortress. Fences were everywhere and there was no cover on that property. Not a car or bush to hide behind. The asphalt halted any vegetation to truly take root other than weeds and a few flowers sprouting out. 

Scars were everywhere. Walking the perimeter of the fences, standing near the entrances of the building, and a few on rooftops overlooking the parking lot and loading bay. “I count 10.”

“We still don’t know where they keep the prisoner, if they hold any.” Ellie pointed out.

Ellie stuck her hand out for the binoculars. She looked through them and saw what Abby saw. “Looks like a weak spot in the back of the fence. We can sneak in through there.”

Ellie and Abby’s plan consisted of sneaking in and killing the Scar standing at the back of the entrance and sneaking in. Ellie’s idea. If things went to shit Abby would take the lead. 

Ellie held her left shoulder. All around she was in pain. Shot with an arrow in one arm and burned on the other. Her back hurt and she had a headache since she woke in the park a few days ago.

A crack of thunder could be heard and the rain was coming down hard. Ellie held the chain link fence up as Abby crawled under. Then the bigger of the two held open the weak point as Ellie crawled through and Alice followed.

The two guards had their backs to them as they snuck up behind them. In synchronized action they both grabbed them and pulled them back killing them. Abby choked out the man and snapped his neck. Ellie slit the others throat and pushed him to the side. 

Ellie went through the door as Abby watched their flank. The place was lit by torches, giving the space an orange glow. On the far end what looked to be a cage was seen. 

Scars patrolled the walkway above. Ellie pulled out her bow and arrow. She aimed for the furthest away and shot him in the chest. 30 seconds later and she dropped the 5 walking above them. 

They took cover behind some crates. Ellie grabbed the explosive materials shoved in a corner and an empty container. She peaked over to see the Scars were not close and she had time to make a proximity mine.

Abby watched in amazement, but kept an eye out for the enemy. One strayed too close to their location and she grabbed him, snapping the neck before he could whistle or call out anything. 

Ellie placed it on the floor and they continued forwards. “Make sure Alice doesn’t walk over here.” Ellie warned. Abby wanted to ask about the crafted thing but didn’t want to make more noise. Not whilst they were surrounded. 

They went to a locked cage closest to them. There was no one in it but there were weapons. A bag that Ellie happily slung over her shoulder after taking off the loose quiver. She flinched and Abby saw it. 

Abby grabbed what looked useful. Same with Ellie. Except Ellie, despite her preference not to be heard, was crafting Molotovs and explosives. Other things that Abby didn’t really know, but she knew that arrows didn’t naturally have a bulky tip to them.

Ellie however watched as Abby managed to somehow take explosive resources and sharp objects and shit out bullets. Ellie never learned how to craft bullets.

Once they were done they headed out of the cage and headed to the next storage area. A Scar stood right in front of Ellie who pulled her switchblade out and killed him before he knew what hit him.

Abby rushed forward and just knocked a woman out just as she turned to see Ellie. She punched the woman in the face and she went down, hard.

Ellie pulled the bow string back and shot another arrow. The target was a large man with a sledgehammer and he fell once the arrow went through his brain. 

As they passed the man Abby grabbed the sledgehammer and put it on the side of her bag. Ellie could only imagine Abby wielding such a weapon. A strong blond wielding a hammer. Like that comic she read back in Jackson.

They finally got to the other side without being spotted to find a few Wolves with their hands tied together. The door was just jammed from the outside so it was easy enough. 

Too bad someone must've seen a body and a whistle pierced through the air. Running could be heard. An explosion where Ellie planted the bomb went off. She had her switchblade out and started cutting the zip ties on the others wrists. Two guys and one woman.

The biggest rushes past her and goes to Abby. “What the fuck are you doing here?” 

“Saving you.” Ellie cut the other two free and they took cover behind a stack of pallets. 

An arrow was stuck into one and Ellie reached forwards to grab it and throw it in her bag. She grabbed the arrow with the bulkier tip and aimed at the heavy running at them and released. Body parts flew for yards. A leg one direction and a hand in the other.

She notched another and shot in between two more Scars. They were blown to bits as well. The man, Owen was beside her. “How many of those fucking things do you have?”

“Enough!” She shot one more at a group coming in. Abby stood and covered their flank with the semi automatic rifle and threw a pipe bomb at them. One tried running at them but Alice was quicker, jumping on him and ripping his throat out.

Ellie ran to the next closest bit of cover and lit a Molotov. She threw it directly at one of the Scars. She reached down and shoved the weapon at Owen who picked the shotgun up, pumped it and aimed at the attackers.

The other two grabbed weapons from bodies they killed earlier. Abby and Ellie switched positions with Ellie now covering their flank as Abby barreled through Scars. Like a hot knife through butter. 

“Abby!” Ellie tossed her a stun bomb to Abby and turned to throw one of them at the attackers. The three stopped dead in their tracks covering their ears and eyes. Abby shot the three before they could do anything.

Ellie lit the fuse on hers and threw it at the three running at them from behind. She raised her gun and shot them without a second thought. 

Abby kicked the door open and ran through. Owen shot a Scar that grabbed Ellie. A quick nod let him know she was thankful and killed one trying to grab Abby.

After many bullets exchanged and arrows ripped out of arms and shoulders the fight was over. Owen looked at Abby and then to Ellie.

“Abby who’s this?” 

“Owen, Ellie. Ellie Owen.” She said motioning in between the two of them. 

They shook hands and headed to the truck a block away. 

“Didn’t think they’d send you on a react mission.” He said.

“They didn’t. They sent her to wipe out this foothold.” He looked at the smaller girl beside Abby. Send this thing? He would have acted surprised but seeing as she and Abby decimated their numbers in a matter of minutes he decided not to say anything about her abilities.

“Who is she? I’ve never seen her before.”

“Owen, we can talk back at the stadium.” 

“But why is she using a Scar’s bow, Abby.” 

“Owen,” she turned to one of the others and handed him the keys before starting again. “She just does.”

The ride back consisted of Abby and Ellie explaining why she was here. Ellie makes sure to leave out anything major about her people. Like numbers, locations, and who might be looking for her. Just in case.

“Jesus. Well all the Scars were killed there. You can at least tell Isaac that.” 


	7. R&R

After getting back and visiting who she needed Ellie was stopped by Mel. Mel being the doctor did what doctors in the military do best. Force Ellie to stay at base until the burn wound healed better. Apparently crawling through the mud didn’t help the healing process. Who knew? 

**16 days later**

It wasn’t all bad. A lot of it was boring but as she was forced to stay due to an unbudging doctor she got to know the compound better. At least she didn’t need a map to find the shitter any more.

Hell she even made a friend. Her name was Whitney and she was the one with the PS vita. When they were loading magazines Ellie mentioned she read the Savage Starlight comic series and that was nearly the best thing that happened. Apparently Whitney loved the series as well. When she wasn’t playing on the gaming device. She even had the fucking Holiday special issue. Apparently it was a limited edition only a few hundred were made during the ten year anniversary of the creation of the series.

The best thing so far was with Manny. The initial introduction was shaky. He’d walked in when Abby and her were changing into their work attire and he’d gotten the completely wrong idea between the two. His words were “ah shit sorry” and “didn’t mean to cock-block you Abs.” At least he was a supportive friend. 

But later she found out he had a father who loved acoustic guitar and couldn’t play anymore. That was depressing as shit, but what wasn’t was the nights she spent picking away at the six string with his shaky voice praising her skill. 

Ellie couldn’t imagine Joel like that. Arthritis was so bad he could barely hold a spoon and a back that couldn’t straighten out. Eyesight was going, even if he didn’t admit it. He was lucky he had a son like Manny who cares so much for him. 

She missed them. The movie nights with Joel. Seeing Dina’s smile and hearing her laugh. Jesse’s comments about the two together. Seeing Tommy and Maria so happy together. Especially Joel, whenever she was with Emanual Sr.

Without even thinking her muscle memory fell into place and she was picking away at the song Future Days. Joel loved sitting outside with her, showing her where the fingers went and where the chords were.

When she looked up she saw his eyes. No longer ones of reminisce but of something else. Ellie cleared her throat awkwardly and went back to playing the song he was showing her.

“No, no. continue por favor.” His hands shook as he held them up.

Ellie went back to playing the song. She just didn’t sing. The guy was lucky as shit to have everything fall into place for him. A son who fights so he ‘earned’ enough to support the father and himself. A group that cares immensely for him. 

Abby on multiple occasions promised Emanual to look after his son. Even Ellie kinda had to, to put his mind at ease when they moved some explosives around and for some reason they wanted the new girl to look at their supply of explosives. Manny did the lifting and she ‘promised’ him she wouldn’t let him blow himself up. But no real promises could be made. It was dangerous.

“That was beautiful. It must mean so much to you.” 

“Yeah.” She slumped on the guitar and rubbed the strings with her left hand. 

“Gracias-Manny!” The Hispanic was standing in the door frame. His father went to greet him and Ellie made sure he didn’t fall. His knees weren’t what they used to be either.

Manny rushed to his father helping him back down. “Dad, you should sit back down.”

“Thanks for spending the time with him.” He was looking at Ellie now.

“Si, por favor.” he looked at his son. “You need to come around more. I’m starting to think she is my child now!” He scolded, but there was no force behind it. 

“Dad, it's been busy.” He turned to Ellie. “No way you could mistake her for me, I’m way better looking.” 

Ellie rolled her eyes and gave a small wave and put the guitar back. She said a quick bye and walked out. Nearly bumping into Jordan.

“Sending time with the old man again?” Unlike Whitney he was polite enough to put away the gaming device and actually look her in the eye. Whitney would game on only half listening to the conversation if she could help it.

“Nicer than you.” 

“Whatever. I’ve been meaning to ask, how’s the arm?” He pointed to the left side.

“Mel wants to look at it tomorrow.” 

“Careful. She may be a medic but get on her bad side and she’ll probably sedate you.” Jordan was referring to one guy who was coming off of anesthetics and blamed her for him missing a limb. It took Jordan, Leah, and Ellie to hold that Goliath sized man down long enough for her to jab him with a needle to the neck.

“We got off lucky he was still drowsy.” Ellie grumbled. Fucker got her right in the face with his fist.

“Can’t believe we’re keeping this guy. Fucker sliced me open good.” Jordan ran a finger over the cut on his face. The man was able to grab a scalpel and slash him before Ellie jabbed his eye and twisted his arm in a painful manner to get him to drop it.

“Having scars isn't that bad, what did Leah say?” Ellie asked.

The smile on Jordan’s face said it all. 

Ellie rolled her eyes. Clearly he was running on that compliment, and that compliment alone. “Good luck with that.”

Ellie headed into Abby and Manny’s room. She pulled herself up onto the top bunk and grabbed the paper and pencil. She was using a hardcover book to draw on. 

It was Dina. Originally she’d only sketched her but with the growing time apart she started to miss her more and more. Didn’t help that Jordan didn’t shut up about how Leah was so nice to him.

she knew that he didn’t mean any malice by it. He didn’t even know she liked girls so he probably just thought she was being nice listening to him. In a way she was, but at the same time she wanted to strangle him. Leah wasn’t ugly. Quite the opposite but still didn’t top Dina in Ellie’s eyes. 

“There you are. I thought you were with Manny’s father.” Abby rubbed the back of her neck as she sat down under Ellie on her bunk. A fresh bandage on her arm showed that she had been previously wounded.

“I was, but it was getting late and Mel wanted me tomorrow morning.” 

“Mel will probably clear you. Feel good to get out and kill Scars?” Abby was lying down when Ellie went to grab something to eat. 

The paper fell through the space between the bed and the wall. Abby caught it before it fell under the bed and was lost forever. “Who’s this?”

Abby no longer had sleep pulling her eyelids down. She was fully invested in knowing this story, the girl in the drawing was pretty. Even with only a pencil the shading was amazing.

“Someone I know.” Ellie grabbed the picture and tossed it on her bunk. “How’s Owen? Heard he was sent to the TV station to check on things, apparently they were slacking.” 

“Hey wait, don’t bring Owen into this. This is about the girl you were drawing before I came in.” Abby using her superior height grabbed the paper to look at it again, holding it up. The same way an older sibling might do.

Just a pretty girl looking with a horse. Clearly the artist focused on the girl and not the animal. Ellie moved to grab it but Abby pulled it away, again.

Something In Ellie’s eyes made Abby give the paper back. Probably because Abby didn’t really want tension in the room, not before they slept. “You’re not a half bad artist. Better than any museum I scavenged. Most of it looked like a toddler did.”

“Thanks.”

“She’s pretty. Who is she?” The teasing was gone. The voice Ellie heard was a sincere one with curiosity laced through it.

“Sister?” Ellie’s face remained unmoving. “Friend?” Ellie scoffed and was going to go to bed when a final guess made her freeze. “Girlfriend?”

“I think I should go to bed.”

“No shit really?! I mean good for you.” Abby told her. 

“Just a girlfriend.”

“Well in this world I think it’s great.” Abby added her and Owen had been together for years, since the Firefly days. 

Ellie rubbed her left shoulder. “She probably thinks I’m dead.”

“What makes you say that?” Her voice had less energy.

“Last time we saw each other I was being tackled out of a window by an infected ten stories high. Far from home so I highly doubt they’ll come looking anyway.” Plus they saw me get bit and fate had it so I was immune. Surprise! She thought that last bit.

“Oh, that sucks. But there’s no proof you died.” 

“Nothing saying I’m alive.” 

Abby nodded at that. 

“Yeah. Hey where’s Manny? He said he’d be in the room later and it’d been a while now.” Ellie observed.

“Probably off with the cook chick, maybe the weather chick this time.” 

“I thought he was with May?” Ellie asked.

Abby chuckled. “Haven’t you heard? Ah zentel men neva tells.” She said, mocking his accent, showing the dumb smirk he gave her. 

That got a small laugh out of Ellie. Manny was just begging to be mocked with some of the bullshit that he said. “How many girls do you think he’s with?”

“Considering I found one of his sex dens when I was scouting I say a lot.” Abby said.

Ellie let out a whistle. “Fuck.”

“Kinda the point.” 

“Not what I meant. Kinda reminds me of Eugene. But without the girls.” Ellie recalled.

“What’s his story?” 

“Dina and I went out patrolling one day and a blizzard came rolling in. Trapped us in a library. Next thing you know we find a Hidden basement full of dead weed. Dina said she hoped it was a sex den, for his sake. The dude was lonely.” It was a shorter version, leaving out some interesting details. 

“Imagine if the WLF had weed. Isaac would lose his shit.” Abby thought about it for a moment. Kinda funny.

“Can’t have blitzed soldiers running around. Do you think Manny has any?” Ellie thought aloud.

“Probably not. Wouldn’t shut up if he did.” Abby said.

“Good point.” Ellie put the image of Dina near her head and tried to sleep. Why did the day have to end with that topic? Ellie wished she could go back to that day with Dina. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was definitely enjoyable for me to write as I felt that in different circumstances the Saltlake crew might’ve been good friends or at least good aquatintences with each other.


	8. Let The Past Die, Kill It If You Have To

Ellie got done with Mel. She was walking out of the room when Abby approached her. “Mel clear you?”

“Yeah,” Ellie rubbed her shoulder and walked with Abby. “What’s going on?”

“Isaac wants us to go through an old base. Barko’s storage unit. There’s been an unusual amount of trespassers.” Abby informed.

“Shoot on site?” Ellie squinted. Shooting on site is how you make unnecessary enemies. It’s why she defended herself so much.

“Pretty much. Haven't seen a friendly face in a long time.” Abby was checking out her weapons and going to a truck. “Sign us out will you?”

“Sure.” Ellie scribbled out what they checked out. 

“Trespassers? That's what you the WLF call people that aren't from around here.” Ellie stated. Abby nodded. “No wonder you have so many enemies.”

“You’re welcome to talk.” Abby scoffed. 

Jackson was still standing, even if they didn’t shoot on site. Shooting on site was what the hunters she encountered did. Then again they weren't at war.

They arrived at the place. Some old pet store. The place seemed abandoned despite being told that there should still be people there. Ellie grabbed her now and followed Abby to the back. Abby pushed the door open with no resistance. 

Abby had her shotgun out and pushed in scanning from the left of the room to the center. Ellie scanned the room coming in from the right to the center. The place was empty and cleared out. “They left in a hurry.” Ellie said, nudging broken glass jars with contents on the floor and a few bullets for a rifle lying on the floor. 

“No, they would have let us know if they were pulling out.” Abby told her. **  
**

Something knocked something over in the next room and Ellie pulled out her silenced pistol with Abby behind her. The door was open slightly. Ellie kicked it open with her gun up only to have a rat scurry past their feet.

“Damn things.” Abby said moving past Ellie. This place was a mess as well. “Looks like they made an exit through here.” Abby pointed out the back door.

Ellie and Abby walked out to see if they could find any signs of the Wolves. An explosion blasted Ellie to the right and Abby to the left. Ellie pushed herself up just to see Abby get knocked out. She made eye contact with one of them. A white man with brown eyes and a long face. He looked so fucking familiar. “You, you bitch!” 

He shot at her with his pistol but she dove to the ground. She saw an opening through a basement window. Ellie crawled to it just managing to dodge another attack. “Get back here you fucking animal!” He hollered. 

Ellie fell through and hauled herself up. A smaller man followed her though and grabbed her throat. Ellie stabbed him in the leg and then in the throat. She pushed him off and ran to the stairs to get out. She pushed through a narrow section of the building falling apart.

From there she circled back to where Abby was slumped over. “We should just kill her now! Right David?” said a big man. David, David, David. Had to be a one in a million chance right? 

“No, I know what I saw. It was her, it was Ellie. See if she can say anything.” He nudged Abby with his foot. “Bring her back. She’s got a lot on her anyway.” 

“How are you sure boss?”

“Fuckin auburn haired white girl with a scar in her eyebrow. Pretty specific.” he jabbed a finger at one of his lackeys.

He remembered sneaking into a building his father told him not to go. Seeing a girl sleeping on the floor only to be dragged out by arm and told not to go back. That this Ellie would come around and to stay away. (If Neil can retcon in this BS doctor I can retcon in something actually plausible into the game without changing the cut-scene.)

No, no, no. Ellie got a control of her breathing and focused on following Abby’s captors. She crawled through the tall grass until she could run behind a car and hide. One looked over and nearly saw her. Thankfully the dumbass was too occupied with his rifle. 

They disappeared into a building across the street. Ellie sprinted across and slowly crept to the door they went through. Locked. She contemplated trying to force it open. If they heard her they might just kill Abby. Ellie looked around and up. An opening in the form of a busted window.

Ellie climbed onto the front of a semi. Then jumped up to grab at the ledge and pull herself up. She looked around and saw a rifle with a scope on it sitting against a chair. Next to it was a can of open beans. The can was freshly open too. Otherwise animals and bugs would have eaten it. Maybe mold or it would dry out but no. It was fresh. The rifle was a nice gun and the scope was clean.

Ellie heard footsteps coming and she hid behind a desk. The steps were getting closer and she was going to grab him but he stopped. “Real fucking funny Danny!”

“What?” Danny yelled.

“Give me back my rifle jackass!”

“I do not have it. You probably left it downstairs.”

Ellie looked at the glass leaning against the wall. She saw the man was facing the door and not her. She snuck up behind him and grabbed him, putting the barrel of the gun to his head. “Easy, just calm down we can work things out.”

She pulled him away from the door and grabbed her knife and slit his throat. She laid the body down and grabbed the rifle rounds from him. She made her way to the next room and saw the person she assumed was Danny and grabbed him. Disposing of him in a similar manner. 

A woman turned the corner and nearly saw Ellie but she was quicker and shot her bow before any calls could go out. The Arrow went through the woman’s throat. She started to fall but Ellie caught her and laid her down before her body made any noise.

She scanned the area looking for threats and started going to the stairs when she saw another man walking up them. How many assholes can be in one location? She really wished Owen were here. But he’d probably fuck things up. Run into the enemy when they hear Abby is being held. 

Ellie was hidden behind a door frame. Arrow notched and hand on the string. She peeked over to see him discovering the body and killed him with a shot to the head. She headed to the cellar. Light on her feet and ready to kill. 

She nearly ran into a body hanging by his feet. A WLF patch on him. “Oh fuck.” It was them. Her heart was beating out of her chest again. The sound of a knife on a cutting board got her attention. “You’re sick.” It was Abby.

The cutting continued. Then it stopped. There were 5 people in that room from the amount of sets of footsteps she heard. “Tell us where Ellie is and you won’t end up on the table.” Ellie swallowed the lump in her throat.

“What do you want with her? The fuck did she do to you?” it was Abby again.

“What the fuck didn’t that animal do?” The slam of the knife hit the board. “That animal killed my father. Butchered him with a machete to the face.” His voice cracked and it seemed like he almost cried, out of anger or sadness she didn’t know. “That  _ thing  _ had no mercy. The winter was especially cruel, then she comes and kills us. Women and children too.”

Ellie was making a stun bomb as she listened to them. She killed yes. Woman? If one was in the way but she did not kill any children. She made a suppressor and was going to make arrows while she listened to them.

“My father traded medicine to her for a deer. She killed my cousin James and lit the town we were staying at on fire.” He added.

Ellie grabbed the stun bomb and got ready to charge when Abby’s voice broke the silence. “Ellie did that?”

“Yes, some years ago. She killed dozens of us and fled. Imagine just trying to look after a community when some shrimp sized cunt comes through and starts killing. My father was helping her. So, are you still going to protect someone like that?” He asked her again.

Abby looked away. Contemplating her words. Ellie didn’t portray herself as such, but the pain this man had at losing his father.

BANG

Ellie shot four of them with the suppressed pistol and went to kill the last one. David Jr. she went to shoot him but she heard a click. She grabbed her switchblade and charged him but he grabbed her wrist and pushed her against the table. The one with human remains being chopped up.

“Come to finish the job?” He growled. 

Ellie brought her knee up and hit him in the groin. She shoved him off and he dove for a grenade on the ground. He pulled the pin and held it in front of Ellie so she could see it. He was on his knees. “You kill me and we all blow up.” He pointed to the stored jerry cans of gasoline. Who the fuck puts gasoline next to a prisoner? 

“Just let me and my friend go.” She pointed to Abby who was tied to a pipe. 

“Like you let my father go? Like the dozens of us you let go? How about James? You let any of them go?” He taunted.

“You did that to yourself.” She looked around briefly to look for anything but found nothing. The cut up body might surprise some but she woke up to that one upon a time. 

“No, you could have joined us! You were given multiple chances! We were extending you a hand and you killed us.” This time he sounded genuinely sad. His hand shook and Ellie tried to creep forward but he held it up again.

Abby was watching them exchange words. “What did you do?” 

Ellie looked at David. A younger version of the first perverted fuck. “What do you want?”

“You, you to suffer,” He looked at Abby again and Ellie rushed him kicking him in the head. He dropped the grenade and she grabbed it and threw it out the door just before it blew up. He shoved her, slicing her with a hunting knife to the side and ran for the stairs. He dropped the blade on the way out.

Ellie cut the restraints on Abby and chased him. The structure of the building fell behind her but she couldn’t afford to look back and risk losing him. She ran through the building heading to the exit but was hit hard by a piece of rotting wood. “Fuck you!”

Ellie turned and punched him in the face knocking him back but he kicked her in the leg on the way down. Ellie fell to her knee and he grabbed her from behind with a shoe lace wrapped around his hands. “Dumb bitch!”

Ellie reached around to grab him but he dodged her and pulled tighter. Ellie was starting to see black when she grabbed the switchblade and cut the shoe lace nicking herself in the process. She fell forward coughing and he fell back but recovered. 

He jumped on her back and slammed her face into the floor once. She wasn’t knocked out by the impact. She wasn't knocked out by the second one either. By the third she managed to get a hand on the floor and stop it. 

David Jr wrapped an arm around her throat and tried to choke her out but she bit his forearm and as he tried to pull away she grabbed a stainless steel pipe that was barricading the door shut and swung it up probably breaking the jaw.

He fell back and just managed to get back up. Some of his teeth were shattered. “Kill me. Like you piece of shit!” She launched himself up just as Ellie swung the heavy metal object down, smashing his skull. His fucking right eye was poping out of his skull.

All she was seeing was red. David Sr, David Jr, David anything who the fuck cared! He was back. She brought the pipe down again and again. Crazed animalistic screams came from her. Rat bastard was always fucking with her. She had no signs of stopping until she swung one last time and she fell to the side. Exhaustion getting the better of her and she fell next to the body. She was shaking and sweating. She just killed him again. Just stay gone! Fucking haunting her dreams, her thoughts, just stay gone.

Her heavy pants could be heard throughout the place. The smell of burning wood, the orange light. 

“Ellie, Ellie get up!” She was still huffing but made eye contact with Abby who was staring at the body. Ellie was in the world of reality again and pulled herself up.

She rolled to her front but Abby was pulling her to her feet. “The noise attracted the infected.” 

Abby half dragged Ellie though the streets leaving a blood trail. Ellie stopped completely and taped herself up with rags and continued. Ellie pointed to another sound looking structure and they headed to it. The infected were a few blocks down. 

Hopefully they’d pass and no one would get bitten.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> who knows the reference in the title of this chapter?


	9. Spill

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing this chapter was like pulling teeth! I’ve rewritten it three times. But I think I’m ok with it.

Ellie and Abby made their way into the building. Ellie slammed the door shut as Abby pushed a large hope chest to barricade it. The scrapes against the floor and grunts coming from Abby proved that the chest was heavy.

Ellie pulled faded curtains closed and Aby pried open the cellar door. The two made their way down stairs and got ready to stay the night.

“What the fuck Ellie.” Abby looked at the other girl. The light shining in her face, causing her to look away.

“Who the fuck did you piss off?!” Abby invaded Ellies personal space. Acting in an intimidating manner. 

Ellie took a step back. “Some cannibals.” 

“That was more than just some cannibals.” Abby said through gritted teeth. “They knew you and you killed an entire camp?!”

Abby paced in the dingy cellar. “Just who the fuck are you.” She turned and marched towards Ellie. “Give me one good reason you should be allowed to live!”

“It was either him or me.”

“So you hack his face in with a machete?!” Ellie’s silence confirmed that she did it. Didn't make a statement saying she didn’t do it. “A father and community leader. You burned their town to the ground.” 

“Doesn’t matter if he was a father or not! He was a fucking monster. Whole camp was monsters.” Ellie took a step forward towards Abby. 

“Monsters? Really?”

“Did you forget that they were chopping a body up in front of you? David choked me out in the middle of a blizzard and threw me in a cage. I woke up to another man hacking a human up and was fed mystery meat!” She pointed in the vague direction from where they came.

“And you ate it?”

“Yes.”

“If you were so worried about cannibals why did you even accept it?” Abby questioned.

This time Ellie took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She needed to calm down before this became a screaming match. “I was starving, I just traded the deer for medicine and I couldn’t eat the rabbit.” 

“Hold up. You had a deer and a rabbit. Medication? Who did you trade it to?” Abby's mind was in a blender at this point and every time Ellie opened her mouth the on button was pushed.

“Joel and I were traveling though the area when we got attacked by a group of hunters. Maybe it was them. Anyway he was tackled off the second floor and landed on rebar. I took shelter in a mall for a while while I found the medical supplies.” Ellie was explaining.

By now all the adrenaline wore off and she found herself leaning against a wall holding her cut side. “There were so many guys in the mall. Around 20 at least. They were trying to get to Joel.” 

“And you killed them?” 

Ellie turned her head and stared at Abby until she nodded. “I patched Joel up and ran to a town. We hid in a basement for that winter. I thought it was gonna be alright but he got sick and I needed meds. On one of my hunting trips I killed a deer. That’s when I met David. Said his people were starving and he’d trade anything for the animal.”

Abby was sitting across from Ellie. “I assumed things didn’t go according?”

“No. They followed me back and I had to lead them away from Joel. should’a known it was a trap. Joel would’ve known. Old bastard could smell trouble a mile away.”

Ellie rested her forearms on her knees. Fingers were curled into fists as she thought about those days. Fuck, the whole winter was a shit show. A fucking firey trainwreck that was somehow still moving. 

“What happened?”

Ellie snapped from her thoughts. “Umm, I was held at their camp for a few days. I tried to escape.”

“No shit. How?”

“He asked my name and I didn’t say anything. After he was talking about coming around and being part of their group I guess I put my hand on the cage cause he’s putting his hand on mine. I broke his finger and tried grabbing the keys.” 

“Fucking creep. How old was he?”

Ellie shrugged. “Don’t remember. I was 14 at the time.”

“Wait, so this group remembered you for… how old are you?” 

“19.”

“5 years.” Abby said aloud.

Ellie nodded. “I was dragged out the next day and held on the table. I almost was killed then and there but…” That’s where she used her immunity to distract him long enough so she could grab the knife. She rubbed her arm. 

“I managed to pull out of his grip. So he needed to put the knife down. I killed the other man, James and ran. We fought in a restaurant. Knocked over a torch.” Ellie massaged her other side, the side that was kicked by David.

“He was the first to rise when we were knocked out. Had no problem kicking the shit out of my ribs. He tried choking me again.” Ellie felt the hands around her throat again. She let out a low growl and turned her head to the side. 

“He didn’t know there was a machete under one of the booths in the restaurant. That’s how I escaped. I probably would have suffocated from the smoke if Joel didn’t pull me out.” Ellie scratched her face and looked farthest to the right. Avoiding Abby’s gaze.

Then she grabbed her bag and pulled out the suture kit. She was going to patch herself up but Abby offered. 

“I didn’t know.” 

“How could you have?” Ellie asked.

“I couldn’t have. He painted a convincing story that you were the bad guy. He was sure he was right.” Abby said.

“Everyone thinks they’re the hero of their own story.” Ellie told her.

“Poetic.”

“Savage Starlight.”

“What?” 

Ellie turned the best she could and repeated herself. “In the 8th issue when the main antagonist is confronted by the protagonist claiming to be the hero that is what he says.”

“Worse than Whitney.” Abby showed a weak smile and nudged Ellie gently. Telling her without words that she wasn’t going to hold it against her. 

“Need help with that?” Abby pointed at Ellie’s side.

“It’s fine.”

“Just at an awkward angle. I think I could get it if you wanted.” She persisted. 

Ellie pushed the kit to Abby who went to work. 

“Umm, mind telling me who Joel is? He sounds like someone you really cared about. Considering all you did for him.” Abby asked. 

“Yeah, I care about him.” She hummed. Remembering the time she stitched him up.

“So is he like your father?”

Ellie paused for a moment. “No, he’s- we met in the Boston QZ, and I hated him then.” She added. 

“Sounds like he grew on you.” A hint of amusement could be heard.

“We grew on each other. I originally hated the man. First thing I thought was ‘I hope he gets bitten by a clicker’.” That got a chuckle out of Abby. 

“Doesn’t sound like it now.” wiped some blood that was in the way of her stitch job.

“No. Things definitely changed.”

“Umm, is he gone?” Abby trailed off the last part.

“No he’s with the community.” She missed him. She could only imagine what he was feeling right now. ‘Hold on a little longer. I’m coming home. With the medical supplies.’ She thought. What about the bite? Maybe the others forgot they saw her get bit. Dina wouldn’t though. 

“What’s it like? The community.” 

“Nice. It has electricity and walls. Homes and families. I think you’d like it. Watching anime and getting drunk in a home.” Ellie remembered her and Manny getting too much in the system. Fortunately Abby was a tired Drunk.

Manny however was the ‘fun’ guy when he had too many in the system. Cracking jokes and laughing at them. She couldn’t understand most of it because it was in Spanish but she knew enough to know they weren’t clean. Hearing her name and Abby’s didn’t bode well but she ignored it.

“How far away?"

Fuck it. She was saying the state. “Wyoming.” 

“Jesus fuck that’s far. I knew it was far but that far. How do you plan on getting back? Never mind the supplies.” Abby pulled the string through again. 

“Transportation. I got a few ideas.” 

“Care to share them?” Abby looked over Ellie’s body to see her face in the little light they had. But it was focused on the cut she was stitching. 

“Think Isaac could let me get a truck?”

Abby looked at Ellie and halted her work. “We are at war with the Scars and you think Issac will give you a truck?”

“I could steal a horse, saddle and bags. From the Scars.” Ellie clarified. Not that it needed clarification. 

“Not a bad idea. You ride horses?” 

“Back in the community that’s what we use. Jeremy is in charge of the stables. He kinda looked like a geek with his glasses, but he gets to give his kids horse rides.”

“So you use horses for security. Is it a democracy or like here.” 

“It’s democratic for the most part. Maria’s a good leader and Tommy keeps the place safe, in charge of security I guess.” She told Abby. 

“Sounds nice. Living a life without a war.” Abby sighed and thought of the Scars. They’d been fighting for nearly five years. But the WLF have been at it longer than her. “What about getting drunk and anime?” Abby remembered that part of course.

“We have a bar called the Tipsy Bison. Real popular when patrols come back. Seth is a bigot though.” 

“Seth?”

“The owner.” she grumbled.

Abby raised her eyebrows and nodded at that. “So it’s a small community?” She asked.

“What gave it that impression?”

“You seem to know everyone. The person in charge of the stables has kids. The owner of a bar is a bigot. The leaders of security and of the place itself.” Abby listed.

“Maybe my people skills are amazing.”

“Uh-hu, and I’m blue. You suck at talking to people.”

“Made friends with Whitney and talked to your little crew.” Ellie spat out the words but there was no real force behind it. The Saltlake Crew if she recalled.

“Only after you were locked in an elevator with them, and you climbed the shaft to get out.” Abby countered. 

“That was one time.” Ellie defended.

“It only happened once. A few days after you got here.” Abby recalled. 

“Whatever.”

“Don’t be upset. Your people skills just suck.” 

Ellie grunted. Abby assumed that was her way of saying ‘whatever’ again. But it could mean a thousand different profanities.

Abby finished up her work on Ellie and they watched the infected go by for a bit. She was glad the heat of the conversation was in the beginning when they were loud and no infected were close enough. “I can take the first watch.” Abby offered.

Ellie nodded and layed down. She used her bag as support for her head and tried to sleep. It was nice to have that back and forth. Dina was a fucking master at it but she wasn’t here.

_She was lying on a cold floor. Joel was shivering on the mattress she got him on. She pulled the blanket up further. She’d need to go looking for more things to keep him warm. She pushed herself up and walked out into the freezing cold air._

Ellie woke to Abby nudging her arm. Her hand was already around her switchblade. Good thing Abby was recognizable. “The group is thinning. Might be able to skip out in a few hours.”

Ellie nodded and went to the window to watch. She expected Abby to lay down but she pulled a milk crate over and sat next to her. “You should rest.”

“Can’t sleep.”

“You haven’t even tried.”

“It’s too close.” Abby admitted.

“To what?”

“My father’s death. Killed by a woman.” Abby wiped the sides of her mouth and took a deep breath. "Our numbers were decimated by a man and we were forced to join the WLF. Survival in numbers. He was trying to save a Zebra from barbed wire."

"You don't have to continue." Ellie offered.

"No, I should. She came out of no where and had a knife. I pulled out my gun but I hesitated. Ellie, he's dead because of me. I didn't pull the trigger." She admitted.

Ellie avoided her gaze. “Abby, I’m sorry you lost your father that way. It wasn't your fault.”

Abby cursed under her breath. "I shot her in the back but it was already too late. First time I ever killed someone. But two others grabbed her and ran into the woods. By the time anyone came he was already gone. Ellie, getting stabbed in the stomach isn't a quick death."

Ellie didn't know what to say. First time she ever killed anyone it was to save Joel. "I'm sorry if today brought back any memories." 

“What? You were nearly… you were nearly killed and eaten, they deserved it. Eating people? Not even Scars do that. They were fucked up from what you said.” Seeing one of them hack up a body with a WLF patch on it didn’t exactly help their image. "But thanks. For worrying."

“At least that woman won't be around to hurt anyone else.” Ellie told her.

“Yeah, but I don't know it she really did die!” A clicker turned to the window and Abby shut up before it could hone in on them.

“I know what she looked like. But that’s it. I wish I could forget.”

Ellie looked at her to see the soldier before her. Her arms were wrapped around herself. Ellie’s seen this woman beat countless to death. Carry wounded across battlefields, shoot off automatic guns without having the kickback affect her. But here she sat curling into herself. A woman mourning the loss of probably her only family left.

“He used to collect coins. From different states. Odd enough he doesn’t have one from Wyoming.” Abby sighed.

“I’ll grab a quarter next time.” Ellie lightly nudged her.

  
  



	10. really Isaac?

Ellie and Abby walked down the streets in silence. Both not mentioning the obvious elephant in the room. “We need to report this.” Abby said.

“Guess so, what are we gonna tell them?”

“Bunch of trespassers took out Barko’s and we killed them. Unless you think there’s more and we need to say something.” Abby was looking at Ellie.

“No, I think that was it. I mean I killed around 30 in the mall the first time. Then their camp. Now this? Can’t imagine they’d be strong enough to come after the WLF.” Ellie logiced out.

They managed to get back to the truck. Ellie getting in the passenger seat and Abby driving. “How’s things with you and Owen?”

“Good. You’ve been spending time with Emanuel.” Abby observed. Manny’s Father.

Ellie hummed. “He’s a nice guy.” 

“Do you miss them?” 

“What?”

“Your community, in Wyoming.” Abby clarified.

“Yes,” Ellie watched the trees go by before continuing. “Why do you ask?”

“You're pretty far from home and you draw things from there. Places, people, and Dina. Do you think they miss you?” Once it left Abby’s mouth she felt kinda stupid.

“A few people but not the majority. Most are probably glad.” Ellie continued.

“You do something?” 

“Aside from some of the older people not liking me and Dina, Not intentionally. Nearly killed this guy, Kane and sent Jacob to the infirmary.” Ellie avoided eye contact. 

“Anything else?”

“Gave Dina a black eye.” 

“Wait, your girlfriend?!” Abby looked at Ellie. That was new. She hit her girlfriend? But she didn’t seem like the type of person.

“Not intentionally. She woke me up because I had a nightmare. I saw a dark figure hovering over me.” Well when she put it like that. “I didn’t realize it was her until after.”

“Oh, Well one time Manny snuck up on me and I elbowed him in the dick. Then chipped a tooth. He was so mad. Said that I ruined his smile and the chances with the ladies.” Abby recalled.

“Really? What happened?” Ellie asked. 

“We were in this building. It was dark and I felt someone grab my shoulder. I thought it was a trespasser. He went down like a rock in the water.” Ellie chuckled at that. The thought of Manny doubling over was funny. He was normally a confident man, maybe a little bit too confident with the ladies.

“Doesn’t seem to be slowing him down with the ladies.” Ellie noted.

“I don’t think anything could slow him down. Shit, we’re already here.” Abby was already pulling back into the stadium. They parked and headed to a tent.

The woman at the front saw them and paused her previous sentence. “Were they still alive?”

“No.” Ellie answered.

“Fucking scars. Hitting us in the middle of the night.” the woman cured, slamming a fist on the table.

Abby shook her head. “It was a group of trespassers. Very organized, but we took care of them.” She looked to Ellie to see if there were any objections to what she said. Ellie nodded. 

“Abby, I need you. Umm, Ally?” The woman had her eyes squinted and her head tilted, showing she was not confident in what she called her. 

“Ellie.” Abby corrected.

“Ellie, right. Isaac wanted to talk to you when you got back. But you guys arrived a bit late.” She pointed in the direction of his office.

“You remember the way?” Abby asked.

Ellie nodded and turned to move though the place. She was watching where the lights were. Where she could run if needed. How many people were there. Her mind was working a mile a minute whenever she had to be in crowds.

Finally she made her way to Isaac who was looking out the window. “You seem to be quite comfortable here.”

Ellie walked in but didn’t get close to him. She stayed in the middle of the room. She didn’t say anything. Isaac turned to face her. She didn’t like Isaac. It was like everything he said had a double meaning to it. “You wanted to see me?”

“Indeed I did. You’re doing fine work out there I hear.” He walked over to his desk. You’ve proven yourself. Killing scars and cannibals. You prove to be a decent recruit. ” His eyebrows furrowed when he said the last part. 

“Recruit?” Ellie raised a scarred eyebrow.

“Yes.” his raspy voice making Ellie’s skin crawl.

“I settled the debt weeks ago.” Ellie told him.

“Yes, I know. I can assume you want to talk about this deal.” There was a hint of disgust in his voice. Disgust of what Ellie didn’t know.

Ellie listed off a bunch of different surgical supplies and meds. She’d stared at the list enough times to know what was on it. Then waited for him to speak. “Quite the list. We are at war with the Scars, you have seen what savagery they are capable of first hand and you want to leave and take supplies with you?”

“Yeah.”

“Don't get ahead of yourself. How do you even plan to move a list such as that? Carry it?” 

“Vehicle maybe.”

Isaac hummed. “You are asking for a mighty lot. Especially considering you show up a few weeks ago…. tell you what, work for me and I’ll decide what you can have. End this war and I’ll give you whatever you want.” The last bit wasn’t really said with any meaning. But if she did end the war he’d just about keel over from shock.

“Really? Whatever I want?” 

He Raised an eyebrow. She wasn’t actually thinking of trying to end this war. Right? Any sane person would know it was impossible. “Yes, or work for me until I see that you’ve earned this mighty impressive list  _ and _ vehicle. Until then you take orders from me.”

Prideful bastard. Ellie wanted to take him down a notch or two. But she wasn't from here. She had no political power as one might say. 

“There's Scar outposts here and here.” He pointed to the map on the desk. “Take out those two and come report to me once you've finished. I expect you need no more than 10 days?”

“You want me to take out two scar outposts in 10 days. On opposite sides of the city.” Ellie stated.

“I suspect someone of your talent can get it done.” He pushed passed her and walked out. Leaving Ellie groaning in frustration and heading to the elevator.

She jammed the button to the first floor and on her way down she let her mind drift. Back to the bar. The Tipsy Bison of all things. She let out a huff of frustration. She missed being there. Back in Jackson. But what would happen if she showed back up?

She looked up at the light in the elevator, a bug was flying around it. Joel tried so hard to keep it under wraps there. Not telling anyone. Not a soul, and she kept it that way. Should she just keep it that way? She pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind. She’d return someday. With enough medical supplies to make the fucking doctors there shit themselves.

She walked out and passed the cells holding Scars. She felt more pity for them than she felt comfortable with. ‘At least when I was a prisoner I kept my clothes’. She thought as she passed them trying not to focus on them. They fled to the shadows anyway. 

Ellie went to the armory. There she was given her weapons. She was contemplating leaving the bow and arrows outside and saying she lost them in a fight. The looks she got weren't good and it’s not like she was losing a gun. Just a Scar’s bow.

She was heading to the exit. Guess the good thing about not being in the circle was no one asked what you were doing. Especially when you report straight to the head honcho. The fucking prick.

Ellie looked up at the sun. A few hours before it would be getting dark. She could probably get a few miles or so in before finding a place to rest. “Not taking a truck?”

She turned to see Leah. “And have Isaac up my ass about using supplies?” 

“Good point. Hey where are you heading?” She was an inch taller then herself and had light skin. 

“Umm, doing something for Isaac.Few bases were taken.” She waved her hand around as if saying you know, the usual. 

“Well who else is going with you? Don’t tell me it’s Danny?” Leah winced when she said the name.

“Fuck no, I’m actually going alone.” Ellie looked around. The two of them didn’t really talk too much. Not a fraction of how much time she spent with Abby or Emanual. Even Whitney, mainly due to her injuries and Mel forcing her to stay in the stadium. So she spent time with the other girl. 

“Alone? But that’s a suicide mission. You know that right?” 

“I’ll be fine.” she told the other girl. “What are you doing?”

“Jordan and I are going to the TV station tomorrow. Being moved there permanently. Apparently they aren’t doing their job.” She told Ellie.

“I should move. While the sun’s up.” she pointed to the sky. The sun was getting uncomfortably close to the ground for her and she wanted to at least start. She didn’t know if Isaac was counting the few hours left as a day or not. She awkwardly walked away and headed out. Back on the street. Leaving before anything else could be said.

The two bases she had to take out were formally Wolf bases. It seemed for everything these guys were, they were getting their asses handed to them by a group of savages that gutted people for entertainment.

She double checked her things. Silenced pistol, Rifle and her bow. All the things she found around the places she’d been. At least Isaac couldn’t bitch about her using their weapons.


	11. That was a terrible Movie

_Ellie was in a full blown sprint running away from a group of Scars on her heels. She was on her way back from the second base she’d eliminated when a fuck ton of scars came out of no where and tried to capture or kill her._

_She leaped over this major gap and landed on the other side and ran to the grass. It was tall and moved in the wind. A few Scars ran around the area looking for her. “Wolf, she went into the grass. Watch yourself.”_

_She crawled through the grass and slipped under a truck. Two of them stood next to her and she could hear everything they said. “I can’t believe we lost the store. The library was a given though.” A woman said._

_“Indeed, The library was bound to be taken, it was too close to the Wolves. But the Store was a surprise to us all.” The male said._

_Ellie thought for a moment. How was that a surprise? Didn’t they just take it and she was taking it back. Right?_

_“How the Wolf infiltrated one of our bases so deep in Serephite territory is quite worrisome. How did she manage to get past all of us?” The woman said._

_“You are correct in worrying, but you must have faith. This Wolf is skilled yes and she was deep in our land but She will guide us to her.” The male said and walked away leaving the woman to look around on her own. Ellie reached for her pistol and regretted not making a silencer for it before._

_The woman looked under the vehicle further from her and walked to the one she was under. Ellie lay on her side ready for when the scar would look under and shot her in the face. The woman dropped and her body went limp._

_Ellie knew that the shot gave away her position and tried to run only to be dragged out by this massive force of a man. His hands wrapped around her were just as huge. Choking out the oxygen and slamming her to the ground. She managed to push him off and shoot him three times. Three times to the chest. No one should be that resilient to bullets._

_She took cover behind a car as another Scar shot at her. They were everywhere! She jumped out from her cover and shot the man twice only to hear the click of her gun as she was hit with an arrow and more were moving in._

_She needed to run. Ellie ran further down the road and took another leap of faith. She grabbed a bottle and threw it at a woman in front of her and used her as a shield. The arrow getting stuck in her. She was glad it wasn’t her getting shot with another arrow._

_“I have eyes!”_

_A shotgun went off to her right as she ran into another store. She vaulted over a counter top and pulled the arrow out. She was fucking out on everything. Ellie looked to see a dead man slumped over with an intact arrow in his chest. If she could move to get it it might help._

_She looked back to see a Scar looking where she was just a minute ago. She squeezed through two shelves and pulled the arrow from the dead man’s chest. Another man walked through the entrance causing Ellie to mentally curse. She took a few steps back and realized he had enough to make an explosive tipped arrow._

_The farthest was the target. She drew her bow back and let the arrow fly. The explosion sent body parts flying everywhere. But it also knocked over another Scar. She ran to him and sliced him up with her machete._

_She went to attack the heavy only to have every attack blocked and be thrown through glass. She got up just in time to avoid the swing with the sledge hammer. It smashed the wall it hit and man was she glad it wasn’t her. The relief was short lived as she dodged a shot from a bow._

_The woman notched another but missed as Ellie quickly ended her. She grabbed the arrows that she dropped and turned to face Goliath but an upward swing got her in the side causing her to stop everything and cough._

_She jumped out of the way as it was swinging again. She shot in once, twice, three fucking time. He looked like a porcupine. She grabbed her machete from her bag and swung it, aiming for his neck. It didn’t go through. She pulled it away and swung it again._

_This time it did and his head went one way as the body slumped the other way. The adrenaline coursed through her veins and her body was ready for the next enemy to come. But nobody came._

Ellie woke to Manny poking her. What could he want? She just got back and wanted sleep! She’d slept a few hours at most throughout the whole fucking trip. Traveling on foot with no one to watch her back. “What Manny?”

“You’ll never guess what Nora managed to grab.” Ellie groaned. Nora was a nice woman with a strong moral compass. She talked with Ellie once or twice, the topic being medical. But she managed to explain her terms and tools without making Ellie seem less intelligent. 

“Fuck, couldn’t of told me when I was going to Isaac’s?”

“Si ,Si but I think you’ll like it.” 

Ellie begrudgingly opened her eyes and looked at what he was shoving in her face. “No shit Nora!”

Curtis and Viper the tetralogy. Ellie looked at Manny, who nodded. “Nora had to go to the hospital and didn’t want to wake you.”

“So you do?”

“She heard the shit Isaac’s been putting you through and decided to grab it from an abandoned store.” Ellie clearly underestimated the kindness of these guys. Either that or they had no appreciation for the classics. 

“Now you may sleep.” He told her.

Ellie was ready to watch the set now! But the second her head hit the mattress again she was out like a light. She woke again to see Abby coming in.

She got out of bed and stretched. “Just get back?”

“Got back this morning, round 8 reported to Isaac.” 

Abby looked at the clock and back at Ellie. “You’ve been sleeping for a while.” Ellie looked at the clock and saw it read 9pm. The sky was dark. She was surprised she slept so long. When she was in Jackson she was lucky to get 5 hours of uninterrupted sleep.

“Yeah, what are you doing?” 

“Heading over to Owen’s.” 

“How come you and Owen don’t share a room? Jordan and Leah do.” There was an awkward silence between the two of them.

“Owen’s sister was prone to seizures so she stayed with him. When she passed it didn’t feel right to move in where she stayed.” Abby told her.

Ellie nodded and thought of Dina and her sister. “Didn’t know he had a sister.”

“He doesn’t talk about it.” Abby walked out and Ellie turned to the window. She wished she could just spend the night with Dina, like how Abby casually said it. Going over to Owen’s room. She remembered when Dina would visit her in the middle of the night.

She missed those nights. When she saw Dina again she was going to hold her and never let her go. Next job that involved going that far away from Jackson, she’d shoot it down and spend the time with Dina and Joel. 

Just thinking about them made her miss them all over again. She looked at the case of movies sitting on her bunk. Joel loved the fourth movie. 

Later Manny came in to see a movie playing on the small TV they had. “I see you are enjoying Nora’s surprise.” 

Ellie was sitting on the stairs in the room with the TV on wheels in front of her. “Hey Manny.” She looked at him only to look back at the TV. It was a small thing. He sat next to her on the stairs and watched with her. He passed her a bottle of something strong.

“Wait, who’s that?”

“Eli Wilson. He’s the adopted son of Jacob Misike. They’re allies with Curtis and Viper. The backstory is Eli was abandoned by his family and Jacob takes him in, together they travel across russia. You learn the most about them in the 3rd movie. It’s mainly about them anyway.” She explained.

Manny scratched at his beard. “That sounds better then Curtis and Snake.”

Ellie scoffed at the blasphemy that was spewing out of this man’s mouth. “Curtis and Viper are the most badass duo.”

Manny shook his head. “I dunno, their main characters, and this is the second movie so you know they gotta survive El.” He shrugged and continued to watch. 

Ellie and Manny watched until the end of the 3rd movie. Where Jacob gets his head beat in with a golf club of all things. In the beginning of the movie. He wasn’t dead when Eli was held down and forced to watch it. The whole reason was some revenge trope. The worst part was it was some random character that was retconned in. Eli didn’t even get a decent ending either, so they just cut him from the next movie. 

“That was maldita mierda! They changed the ending of the second movie for this one. Injusticia a Jacob’s character and destroyed Eli.” He yelled at the screen that was now blue.

Ellie agreed. “They really fucked up their franchise with it. Joel said when it came out there were major leaks that led people to boycott the movie. He also said the writers were complete asses about it. Making copyright claims that were nonexistent and telling fans they were wrong. Joel told me they also lied in the trailers. Making it look like Jacob would be a bigger part of the movie. But they went back to the badass duo for the fourth movie, after the new writers took over.”

“For the better. That sex scene though. I don’t think I’ll get hard for a month.” He referenced the god awful scene where the asshole that killed Jacob gets railed from behind by a cheating fucker who had a pregnant girlfriend.

“Well the new writers brought back Curtis and Viper for the fourth movie. Totally kicks ass by the way. But 2 is the best. Where they go rogue to fight Russian spies.” Ellie told him. 

“I should have walked in earlier.” Manny laughed at his own joke.

“We can watch the rest tomorrow.” Ellie was feeling the effects of the alcohol. The drowsiness was starting, not taking over but definitely feeling it. God her sleep schedule was fucked up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really liked this chapter. I say it like I'm reading it.


	12. I say up but go down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I rewrote the chapter "Spill". the later part of the chapter where Abby tells Ellie of how her father dies.
> 
> updated Sep 9, 2020

Ellie was tired. Angry and tired. Fucking literal  _ months _ of this backbreaking work. A long time dealing with Isaac. She just returned from clearing that TV fucking she didn’t bother remembering the damn things proper name. 

She found Jordan strung up and Leah shot to hell. At least five arrows sticking out of her. At least the other guy she was with, Aiden was going to report it because he wasn’t bleeding like a pig.

Mel was treating a large cut to her back. A machete did it. “It’s a miracle you didn’t pass out from blood loss. You had us worried.”

By the time Ellie managed to get into the medical tent she was stumbling like a drunk. Luckily Nora was at the front gate to practically drag her here. Speaking of Nora. She was working on the broken nose Ellie sustained when fighting a rather nasty Scar.

But she was standing in the end so they could only guess what the others looked like. “Isaac really kicking your ass?” Nora asked.

“Can’t get off my feet.” The whole deal was bullshit. Everyone and their grandmother knew that much about him. Isaac kept his word on everything, she heard others vouching for him but how easy the terms were. That was a different animal.

“If this is such a hell why say?” Mel asked. 

“Went out to get medical supplies. Not returning without them.” 

“Not this shit. Clearly you’d be accepted back. Why not just go.” Nora stated.

Ellie shook her head. She needed to do something, anything to draw the attention from her to something else. Besides, they all probably assumed she was dead. Except Joel, Tommy, and Maria. 

Dina was probably back with Jesse if it was anyone’s guess. It left a bittersweet taste in her mouth. She would be glad Dina would be happy and move on, but the thought of Dina no longer being her’s hurt. What hurt even more was Dina thinking she was dead. 

“Ellie? You still with us?” Mel was moving her hand in front of her face.

“Huh? Yeah I’m still here.” 

“Are you sure you can make it back to your room? It’s on the other side of the stadium.” Nora put a hand on Ellie’s shoulder, halting the girl from getting up.

“I’ll be fine.” The stumble to her room was a slow and clumsy one. No one approached her, with her rep climbing to rival Abby, people took notice. On second thought, maybe a small rest wouldn’t hurt. 

She was next to the dogs. Where was Alice anyway? She went in and Alice ran up to her. “Hey Alice, want a good scratch?”

She picked up the tennis ball and threw it. The ball went a few feet and fell. Ellie grabbed at her back. “That’s all your getting out of me.”

The good girl licked her hand for a minute and lay back down on her back in the sun. Ellie let out a laugh and Alice wagged her tail at hearing the joy.

By the time she was back in her room she just managed to sit down when the door slammed open. Ellie shot up grabbing her switchblade ready to fight only to see Abby.

“Fuck! It’s you.” Ellie put her switchblade away and sat back down, on Abby’s bunk. Not that either cared. If anything it became an unspoken rule that the more injured one would get the bottom bunk. Though Ellie would never admit it. 

“Aiden said what happened. You ok?” Abby skipped the steps and was next to Ellie in a flash.

“I’ll be fine. Abby, I gotta tell you. Jordan and Leah… they, they were dead when we got there.” 

Abby’s face fell from neutral to angry. Just like those fucking cult shits to kill more good people. “Fuck!” She turned and walked away. Then circled back to Ellie.

“Abby."

“No! They need to pay. They have their island and they refuse to stay on it!” 

Owen came through the door. “Ellie I’m glad you’re ok.” He turned to Abby who was fuming pissed. “Aiden told me what happened.”

Ellie thought for a moment. “Why would they attack the TV station? I thought that was deep in Wolf territory.” 

“They’re getting too strong.” Abby said.

“Abby, what are we gonna do? Isaac wants us here.” Ellie said.

“I’ll talk to him.”

“Abby. He’d never allow it.” 

“That’s where you’re wrong. We need that TV station. It overlooks a checkpoint where we can observe trespassers and provides a great advantage. Don’t tell me you wouldn’t like to get revenge.” Abby argued.

Ellie huffed in frustration. “We cleared it.”

“You didn’t hear? They took it back! Right after you left.”Owen informed them.

Ellie’s face fell, more than it usually was. It felt like all the hard work that her and the others that went with her meant nothing. Just slumping down hurt her back.

Owen raised his hands. “Ellie’s right. Besides do you really want to go out and fight?”

“Yes! I’m talking to Isaac. Right Ellie?!” Abby turned to Ellie for backup.

Ellie sighed and shut her eyes. She was a known Scar killer and overall badass. Many Wolves knew that and saw her in action but they began to mistake her skill for passion, and her consistently working for dedication. Isaac was just ordering her to do it. Now Abby was making those mistakes.

“Abby, we have to plan this out.” Also she knew for a fact Isaac would send her right the fuck back out to reclaim it so she was trying to buy a night of rest. 

Abby huffed making fists so tight her knuckles were white. Ellie could see her muscles tense. “I’m going to Isaac. Come on Ellie.”

“What?”

“Come on. You know as well as I do they need to pay!” Abby looked about ready to bash someone’s skull in.

“Can’t we do this tomorrow?”

“No. Besides you know Isaac wants to know what happened.” Abby explained.

“Aiden already said what happened.”

“But He'll want your side.” Ellie sighed. Isaac would no doubt want to hear it.

Owen stepped in between them. “Didn’t you just lose a lot of blood?” 

“I’m fine.” Ellie stood and pushed past him and gestured for Abby to lead the way. Tired eyes looking at the strong woman.

Abby was storming to Isaac but looked back to see Ellie shuffling next to her. She slowed her pace slightly. Allowing Ellie to walk a bit more comfortably. “Thanks for coming, I know you’re tired.”

“Let’s get this over with.” Ellie grumbled.

Isaac listened to Abby’s yelling and ranting. She was stomping around the room. Isaac looked to Ellie. 

She was standing there watching Abby. Looked up from the floor and made eye contact with him. He stared back and looked to Abby when she finally stopped. “What exactly are you asking?”

“Send a group back and have them stay. Then send the techs over. We need it, it overlooks the edges of Wild territory and gives us a foothold next to the checkpoint. From there we can go after the courthouse and that church.” Abby argued.

“That would take a lot of resources to pull off.” 

“We can’t just let them get away with it! They killed Leah and Jordan.” Abby shouted.

“Yes, I know. The Saltlake crew was close. But this is bigger! We’re gonna need everyone.” Isaac snapped.

“Yes I know but-“

“You want it retaken? How badly do you want your revenge?” He pushed himself off the desk and walked to her. “Do you care who reclaims it?”

“No, but they can’t get away with it.” Abby seethed through her teeth. 

“Alright.” He turned to Ellie. Ellie’s heart dropped. “Ellie, you’re already familiar with the area.” 

Ellie pushed off the wall. “I can’t. I just-“

“Any vehicle. Car, bike, truck? You can have any vehicle of your choice. Full tank as well, if you do this.” Ellie shut her mouth. This was the first official thing she’d heard. “Then we’ll work towards the supplies.”

“Any vehicle?” 

“If it’s in the garage it’s yours.” A small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. “You can leave whenever you want after this.”

“And I couldn’t before?” She raised her non scared eyebrow.

“But you’ll have a vehicle to travel with. You don’t have to immediately choose your own vehicle when you get back but think of it as a favor you’ll get to cash in.” He looked outside.

Abby grinned and looked over to Ellie. “Great! Ellie and I will-“

“No, I need you for something.”

Abby paused for a moment. “But Ellie needs help with the TV station.”

Isaac raised an eyebrow. “Really? She’s needed no help before. Why does she need help now? I need you now.”

Abby looked to Ellie who was looking back. Asking the silent question of what are we doing?

“Abby, Tomorrow you’ll be leading a fight to take back the buildings on Anderson St.” He walked across the room to grab a map from a draw. He handed it to Abby. 

“I need you both, the best fighters the WLF have.” He complimented.

Ellie mentally scoffed. Compliments were nothing. 

Abby nodded. “Thank you Isaac but will you send anyone with Ellie?” 

Ellie raised the scarred eyebrow this time. Since when was Abby one to ask things for her? Not being rude but Abby never inquired about who went with her before.

“Why are you asking that? The WLF need their soldiers.” Isaac said.

“But what if Ellie needs help, you said she was one of the best.” 

“Who are you loyal to?” Isaac asked.

“What?”

“Who? A trespasser or the ones you took you all in when you were displaced. Because the WLF will need you to lead the fight to take back the street.” He sighed and allowed his face to fall. “Tell me who you want to side with?”

“The WLF of course but-“

“That’s it. Abby, my decision is final.” He turned to the window once again. 

Ellie and Abby walked out. “Fucking knew it.” Ellie grumbled.

“Knew what?”

“That’d I be sent out.” Ellie clarified.

“So that’s why you were hesitant to talk to him? Ellie he promised you a vehicle and an out. Isn't that what you’ve been after all this time? To go back to Dina.” Abby was facing Ellie. The way she said it was almost mocking. 

“No! Yes, I need the supplies as well.” 

“Why?! If it was important then they’d be dead by now so clearly it isn’t.” Abby recalled a brief conversation when Ellie said she was looking for supplies but it wasn’t urgent.

“We still need them.”

“What are you doing?” Abby asked. Her eyebrows were raised and voice going an octave higher.

“What do you mean?” Ellie asked.

“6 weeks ago Isaac offered you an out and you denied it saying you needed a vehicle. Before when your debt was paid you could have left. Now you have a chance to get a vehicle and you need supplies. What next a full moon will be needed?” Abby exasperated.

“I’m doing this for my community.”

“But why?”

“Same reason you’re with the Wolves.” Ellie quipped.

“What would that be?” Abby and Ellie were walking outside, the sun on them and people clearing a path for them. Two top Scar killers arguing? Get the fuck out of the way!

“Loyalty.”

“They took us in when we needed a place to go.” Abby answered. 

“So is it loyalty or debt?”

“Loyalty apparently.” Abby spat.

Ellie huffed and marched off somewhere, Abby doing the same. Ellie had a valid reason for staying and trying to get supplies. Of course she wanted to go back to Jackson. She missed Dina and Joel every day. The two people meant the word to her. She’d burn the world for them!

Abby was going to the gym. She grabbed the bar above her and started doing pull-ups. Ellie was something else! She always talked about wanting to go back home. She missed Joel and Ellie. She would not stop talking about how it was a peaceful place. Why the hell did she stay? Her actions contradict her words. It confused Abby. If they were as nice as she claimed then show up without the fucking supplies!

“Abby you ok?” Nora asked as he walked to her.

“Ellie’s confusing! She does one thing but claims another.” She pulled herself up again and dropped down and turned to the woman. 

“What do you need?” 

Nora smiled. “Girls are complicated, I was looking for Ellie actually. You two are normally joined at the hip.” 

“Nope, probably off going to take out the Scars at the TV station and refuse the vehicle when she gets back claiming to need more before she can leave.” Abby made a face after saying the last bit.

“shit really!?”

“Yeah. Why?” Abby asked.

“She was lucky to survive!” Nora turned to run to the armory. Hopefully catching Ellie before she ran off.

Ellie became a regular thorn in the side for her and Mel. Both medics would tell her to take it easy and she’d run around going after Scars. 

Nora went to the Armory and asked around but no one had seen Ellie. Where the hell could she have gone in the few minutes it took for her to get there?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't help updating more then I said I would. I like writing. But Weekends are still valid.


	13. Oh Sh*t

Ellie was half way down the road. Her back burned and she was angry. Abby didn’t understand. She didn’t know what predicament she was in. Then again who would be able to relate to her? 

A thought crossed her mind. Maybe she could sneak into Jackson and at least let Joel know she was ok. Yeah, she’d do that. There was a blind spot on the walls that the teens used to get in and out without being seen. 

She remembered when Dina all but dragged her out to meet the other teens. The only other teen that didn’t make her want to kill them was Jesse. From there the friendship only strengthened.

She felt kinda bad for not thinking of him. She’d been so focused on everything and Dina that she blocked out the other things Jackson had. Not just Jesse but Tommy and Maria. 

She adjusted the bag on her back. She’d resorted to storing her things outside the base to save time and odd looks with the bow. 

Last time she went to the damn TV station she was in the back of a truck with a dozen or so more people. Now she was walking to it with an injured back.

——Time-Skip——

Ellie placed another proximity mine down. Then shut the door behind her. Next person to open the door would get an explosive surprise. The thought of a scar blowing themselves up as they walked through the door gave her a small smile. They deserved it, hanging people up as they gutted them.

She cleared the station but her back was killing her. Her ribs ached and her head was pounding. She felt like a walking corpse at this point. Shambled around like one too. 

But she was rigging the whole place with traps. She knew that meant coming back to disarm the traps but she wasn’t taking any chances with the Scars taking it back. If they were going to take it back they would lose significant numbers clearing the building.

Ellie set another at the base of the steps in the corner. Then looked at it, it looked like a fancy can to the untrained eye. She briefly wondered if a Wolf would come through and accidentally blow themselves up. No way Isaac would send anyone so she shrugged and turned around.

Ellie was sure she had a concussion and the dehydration was setting in. She looked up at the sun and groaned. It was mid day and the sun was at its highest. She hoped Abby was better off taking Anderson St. should've already happened.

Maybe she should talk to Abbby. Ellie thought. She had a week to cool off and realized that her actions were contradictory to her words. She always said she wanted to leave but never did when given the chance. 

She pushed through the two trucks she recognized only to feel something wrap around she ankle. She knew she had to move it but it was as if her body lagged behind her mind because by the time her muscles moved she was hanging upside down. Blood rushing to her head, worsening her headache.

She pulled her bag off and went to grab the machete to cut herself free but footsteps pulled her concentration to them. Scars, and a lot of them.

“Drop the blade and bag!” A woman told her. She looked to be a middle aged woman with black hair. 

“Now Wolf! Or we shoot.”

Ellie looked around to the best of her abilities. At least 4 men had bows drawn and aimed at her. A few others were there but didn’t have a bow.

Ellie dropped the weapon and bag. A scar cut her down and she nearly broke her neck. But she used her arms to avoid the untimely and probably very embarrassing death. 

She went to grab the machete but the man closest to the woman lifted the bow higher and she stopped. “You could probably kill me, maybe someone else. But I guarantee you’ll be dead too.” The woman said.

One of the Scars grabbed her stuff before she got any more ideas. “Who are you?”

“Nakita, you are the Wolf that’s been killing us.” 

“Don’t all Wolves kill Scars?” Ellie observed that no one was to her left. 

“Yes, but you are infamous among us. You will come with us if you don’t want to die. Don’t do anything you’ll regret.” Her voice was hoarse, like a smoker. She looked gaunt. Maybe it was just because she was tall.

As one man approached Ellie she grabbed him and turned her back to the left. She knew she didn’t have to worry about getting shot in the back now. She pulled the switchblade from her back pocket and stabbed him in the throat. She turned to a woman charging and stabbed her twice in the side and slit her throat.

When she turned, Nakita was there. Ellie trusted the blade upward, expecting Nakita to step back like the others did but she went forward. Blocking Ellie’s upward thrust, their forearms clashing.

Ellie was about to pull back and slash with her blade. But her right arm was yanked forward and twisted painfully counterclockwise. Causing her to naturally bend over. For a gaunt Scar she was strong!

Ellie was going to resist but Nakita was behind her kicking out a leg and slamming her into the ground before she could process it. Ellie looked at her, she clearly knew hand to hand combat of sorts. “I told you not to do something you’d regret.” She rasped. But it was only because of the smokers voice. 

Ellie went to get up but the woman kicked her, knocking her unconscious.

Ellie woke with a numbness in her hands. She forced her legs straight to support her as she looked around. Her wrists were bound by rope above her head and the place was lit by fire. 

“Good, you’re awake. I was beginning to think I killed you.” The woman told Ellie. 

Nakita went right in front of Ellie. “I’ll cut straight to the point. Wolves are planning something. What is it?” 

Ellie blinked as she stared into heterochromia eyes. A dark brown eye to the right and a blue eye to the left. The contrast night and day. 

“What are they planning?”

“I don’t know.”

The woman sighed and looked at Ellie. “Don’t insult me, I know you people have been up to something. 5 other Wolves confirmed it but none have been able to tell me. Not ranking high enough.” 

“Well I don't know shit.” The only thing Ellie could think of was taking back a street but that happened the same time she took out their base. Nakita talked like it still had yet to happen.

“Really? One of Isaac's top _dogs_ doesn’t know what’s going on?” 

“How do you even know I talk to Isaac?” Ellie asked.

“Ellie, the other Wolves told me everything they could about the trespasser turned Wolf.” She said as she walked just outside of Ellie’s view. “How you could clear bases on your own and win impossible odds.” 

“They're dead now?” Ellie asked even though she knew the answer.

“4 out of 5 are yes. I gave them a chance to join. Give me the information on what they are planning, what Isaac is planning and I will give you the choice as well.” Nakita offered.

Ellie grunted as she tried to alleviate some of the irritation on her writer by putting more weight on her feet, but her toes just touched the ground.

Nakita slung an arm over Ellie’s shoulder from behind and rested on her. Putting more strain on her wrists. She rested her chin in Ellie’s shoulder. “Tell me what I want to know and I give you the Nakita word that you’ll be alleviated of the pain and accepted as a serephite. Who would we be to not offer our hands to those who see what they’ve done wrong?”

Ellie let out another groan and looked at her. A frown plastered on her face. “You don’t wanna have to decide now.” The woman hummed.

Nakita pushed herself off of Ellie. Suddenly Ellie heard a few clicks and her feet were now flat against the floor, she could even bend her elbows slightly. She tried to look at the woman behind her. “Think about the offer, I’ll be back.”

With that Ellie heard a door shut. They didn’t actually leave her alone right? She looked up at the ropes binding her wrists together. 

Wait, she was no longer hanging from the rope. She turned around to see a fire and where the rope was secured. It was secured to a winch, which was secured to the wall. She looked up to see the rope thrown over a large pipe. Something told her that there was no way the pipe would break, nor would the winch or rope itself. 

The rope was stuck in between an elbow joint and a point where the pipe and joint met. No way she could move the rope to the side even if she wanted.

She tried to free herself but she was pretty sure she only made them tighter. She was no knot expert, but these looked expertly done.

Probably Nakita who tied these knots. Gaunt motherfucker. She yanked them a final time but to no avail. 

What did she want to know? The attack? Ellie wanted to ask if it was the attack on Anderson St. but if it wasn’t then she’d tip off Nakita that it was taken. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m starting to skip fighting scenes mainly because if you want to see it. Just look up a compilation of “TLOU2 brutal kills” and you got it. Also we know Ellie’s badassery. If you want to read long drawn out hiding in bushes and picking off Scars then I’ll write it. But I just wanted some poror opinions. 
> 
> Ps. I’m tired of the faceless character. I can make up 1000 names but it’s still a throwaway NPC.


	14. Just Fine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> iPhone being a bitch. Sorry for the odd paragraph spacing. I’ll fix it when I turn my computer on.

Abby sat in her room next to Manny. He was watching Curtis and Viper 2 again. Guess Ellie was right when she said it was the best out of the four movies because Manny was watching for the millionth time.

“Think I fucked up?” She asked him.

Manny turned his attention from the tv to Abby. “What do you mean?” 

“What I said. Before when I snapped at Ellie.” 

“Eh, you coulda worded it better from what you told me.” Manny said. “You never did tell me why you snapped.”

Abby’s frustration showed as she looked ready to strangle someone. “When is she gonna leave? Hmm?”

“So it’s about her leaving.” 

“Yes!”

“Do you want her to leave?” Manny questioned.

“Yes, no. She’s one of the best Wolves here. She reclaimed most of the bases that were lost to the Scars and saved more Wolves out on the field then anyone here. Including me.” Abby explained. To be fair Abby was never one to go on a rescue mission. She was responsible for killing Scars and leading fights.

“Heh, better get on your game Abs, or you might be taking orders from her.” He nudged her lightly. 

“Not if she leaves for Jackson, it's a wonderfully peaceful community!” She thrust her hands in front of her in mock excitement.

“Abby, do you want her to go? Better question Abs, Do you want to go?” Manny awaited the answer.

“What?! No, I don't want to go anywhere.” Abby defensively said.

“What about Ellie? Abby stop dodging the question.” When She didn’t answer he got the just of it. “Ellie’s a great friend. I mean I know you know and I know, and Owen knows. Nora and Mel know. Even if she can’t listen to directions about her health.” Manny listed.

“No shame in not wanting to lose a friend Abs.” He patted her shoulder.

Abby sat back against the step. “Jordan and Leah are dead. Now she has the vehicle she wanted. But I don’t know if she’ll leave without the medical supplies.”

Manny glanced at the tv once more. “She said she’d leave for months now. Why worry all of a sudden?”

“I just want to know when she’s leaving, Manny. But she can’t even give it to me straight!” Maybe asking for it straight didn’t exactly fit her though. 

Manny smiled. “There, was that so hard to admit? You don’t wanna lose a friend and don’t even know when to expect. Right?”

Abby now rested on her knees. “Yeah you're right, and you're ok with it?”

“Course I’m right! But that doesn’t mean I gotta be ok. I mean losing the one person I can talk girls with? No way!” Manny laughed as he shoved her to the side. 

Abby scoffed and shoved him back harder. She was trying to push him off the step but he caught himself. “I talk with you about the weather girl and the cook chick. What about the other one who likes your oh so eloquent spanish?” 

“Abby, you’re with Owen and Mel is straighter than a ruler. Nora isn’t into it. See? Ellie’s the perfect candidate.” Manny reasoned.

“More perfect then you know.” Abby grumbled.

“What was that?”

“Nothing.” She said a little too fast.

“You know everyone knows right?” He clarified.

Abby raised an eyebrow. “Well I assume Dina isn’t a sister. After all she didn’t deny any accusations of being together.”

Abby rolled her eyes. Manny always pried. If not with questions then with accusations and watching the reaction. “All for the better Abs. She understands the struggle.” He shook a fist in the air for emphasis.

“Probably more than you ‘Mr, get your rocks off every other day.’ Imagine not having any woman for months.” Abby made a face. It was the ‘imagine it’ face. “Could you survive that?”

“Well we know why you're stressed. Now we know why Ellie’s stressed.” Manny smiled at his revelation. 

Abby laughed. “Yeah now we know, cause Ellie can’t keep it in her pants. Wait, I’m explaining you.” She pointed at him. “I probably should talk to her when she gets back. It’s been 9 days, think she’s alright?” She scratched her chin.

Manny nodded. “Abby, Ellie’s a big girl. She’s fine.”

——————-

_ Ellie was not fine _ .

Strong arms yanked her from the open barrel of water. She only had seconds to gasp as her head was forced under once more. Her forearms were repeatedly wrapped in leather straps. Binding them together behind her back.

They’d made the mistake of trying it with her arms free and because of their careless action two were dead and a third missing an eye. If it hadn’t been for Nakita shooting her in the right leg she would have gotten away.

She was pulled out before she passed out. Nakita was in front of her. “What is Isaac planning?”

“Fuck you!” Ellie spat. She’d tried multiple times telling them she knew nothing of this grander plan Isaac had. They didn’t listen to it. 

Ellie expected to be shoved under and already had her head turned to the side. Even though no matter what way they submerged her she still got the feeling death was knocking.

Except they threw her to the ground and John. She was pretty sure it was John who kicked her in the ribs with steel toe boots. He pulled his leg back and kicked her again, this time harder.

“Gah, fuck!” Ellie tried to stand but Joseph stomped on her right leg before both grabbed her and hauled her to a chair where they sat her down. Joseph held her in place as John tied her to it.

Nakita Sat in a chair across from her. Ellie was panting from the lack of oxygen before and the brief beating just now. “I don’t like hurting you.”

“That why you’re having them do it?” Ellie glared.

The terror twins she mentally called them, they were twins. Ellie absolutely hated Nakita but if it wasn’t for her she probably would be getting skinned alive or boiled alive if John had his way. 

But Joseph was easily the more sadistic one, wanting to nail her intestines to a tree and drag her away with a horse. But he said he’d be ok with rat torture. All he needed was the rat.

It could be a really fucked good cop bad cop scenario but she doubted that. They seemed more than ready to go through with either of their plans. 

Nakita waved her hand and the two walked out. At least she had complete control over them. “Join the Seraphites and you won’t regret it. I can make it so.”

“Why do you want me to join your fucking cult?!” 

“I believe you can see the error in your way.” Nakita persisted.

Ellie looked at Nakita with confused eyes. “You're the ones who hang people and disembowel them.”

“You hold onto old world possessions and their way of living. Your wrath blinds you to what is obvious!” Nakita argued.

“What’s that?!” Ellie yelled back.

“The demons roaming the earth is a sign. One that must be heeded. The old world is dead. So too is it's way of life. The only way to live is one of balance though nature.” Nakita told Ellie.

“What you have is a cult.” 

Nakita sighed. “You are an intelligent young woman. Don’t let them drag you down too. Tell me what Isaac is planning.” It almost sounded sincere, up until she brought Isaac back.

Nakita walked behind Ellie and undid the knot on the rope holding her to the chair. She pushed Ellie forward, not enough to shove her off the chair but bend forward. She also undid the straps on her forearms.

Ellie immediately pulled her arms in front of her. Rolling her shoulders massaging her forearms with her hands. She wanted so badly to fight Nakita but last time it didn’t go well. 

_ Nakita undid the ropes holding her up. Ellie elbowed her in the chest and got out of her grip. From there she got ready to fight. _

_ Ellie swung first but Nakita dodged it. When she swung again Nakita grabbed the arm and yanked her forwards back knuckling her in the ribs with the other hand.  _

_ Nakita roughly shoved her away. “You done yet?” _

_ Ellie attacked again but Nakita easily blocked the right hook with her right forearm and slid her hand to Ellie’s neck. Whacking her throat and following through with a punch to the face with the left hand. An uppercut to the diaphragm with the right and a blow to the side of the head with the left. _

_ It seemed pretty basic. The way she was run though but the speed was what really got Ellie. Everyone she ever fought, even going back to the hunters years ago. All were slow, big and strong. But Nakita had plowed through her before she even registered the first fucking hit. _

Ellie sat there. She would have attacked but she knew it was a lost battle. Her right leg was shot, her ribs busted up and her body was lagging behind. She knew that before she was captured. Besides Nakita was a more than capable hand to hand fighter.

The older woman sat back down in front of Ellie. Her eyes wandered to Ellie’s right arm. “Old world possessions are not allowed as you know.”

Ellie followed her gaze. “Guess I can’t join your cult after all.” 

“On the contrary. We’ll just have to burn them off.”

Ellie’s head shot up and she let fear show in her eyes for a second. Then reverted back to her composed self. “Then why haven’t you done it?”

“Fighters are given certain exceptions to old world items.” She brushed her coat aside to show a revolver in a holster. “You would have those exceptions.”

“All this.” Nakita stood and gestured to herself. She was wearing a long grey coat. A trench knife was on her opposite side. Everything about her was old world, except for the scars on her face. She was unlike the other scars even going against their fashion wearing the grey coat, black jeans, and grey boots. Not their brown.

Ellie sighed and leaned forward. “I’m not joining you.”

  
  



	15. AWOL

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fuck the update schedule! Weekends my ass I’m updating when I can. Also all this online school stuff is kicking my ass.

Abby was in the elevator going up to Isaac’s office. Ellie was still gone and she wanted answers. It had been 11 days. Ellie never was gone this long. The only time she was gone this long was when she was checking in with the hotel. But she was sure to let them know she was going to be gone.

Abby knocked on the door and waited for an answer. She heard him say come in and she did. 

“Abby, I wasn’t expecting you.”

“Yeah, umm, when is Ellie getting back? Did you give her a specific amount of time or a date to be back?” Abby asked him. 

“So that’s what this is about.” He crossed his arms. “No, I did not give her a time to be back. You trust she can get the job done. No?” He raised an eyebrow.

“Maybe send someone? Like the tech crew. I can escort them. I have this weekend off anyway. I won’t be taking up any work time.” Abby added.

“No, sending soldiers could sabotage Ellie.” He took a step forward. “You wouldn’t want that, would you?” 

“Ellie’s MIA. Admit it.” Abby said through gritted teeth. 

“So what if she is. What would you have me do about it?” He questioned. To say he was lacking empathy was an understatement. “Waste troops, resources, lives for her?”

“You said it yourself she’s one of the best here.” Abby pointed a finger at him.

He pushed the hand away from him. “I will not waste the resources the WLF have for one person.” 

“Really? What if it wasn’t Ellie? What if it was someone else? What if it were me?” Abby asked. 

“Abby, you must understand she always was a trespasser. Always was and always will be. Never swore loyalty to the cause. Not like you. What happens when she returns? She’ll leave without a second thought. You know that.” Isaac told her.

“No, Ellie isn’t gonna leave.” Abby defended.

“But she will. Don't act surprised. Don’t lie to yourself.” He put a hand on her arm. “She was one of the best, I’ll give her that. But I need you… _ you _ . Fall is coming in a few months and we’re gonna take them out once and for all. We’ll attack when a storm comes. You can get your revenge in leading the attack. Choose who you want.” He explained. 

“I want Ellie. She can watch my back better than anyone here.” Abby said.

“Her? Wouldn’t Owen be better? Afterall you two are together last I hear.” He suggested.

“No! She’s the best we fucking have. You point and she attacks. She’s your goddamn attack dog. Been like that for months now. If she really has failed then this will be the first time ever since coming here.” Abby argued. “She would be a valuable member in the attack.”

“My decision is final! Abby, you’ve been here years, far longer than her. Surely you know the tough calls. Right? Sometimes a pawn is lost. Even a knight or rook. But as long as the king still stands the game is not lost.” 

He turned to his desk and pulled out a bottle of scotch. “Abby, I see you are conflicted. Here, for your weekend off.” He handed it to her. “I assure you, you deserve it. For all you have done. Not just for the WLF, but for me.” He smiled.

“Get some rest. You are much too stressed.” He was already walking to the door. In the most polite way possible he got rid of her.

Abby was furious! He thinks a fucking bottle of adged whisky is gonna stop her!? She didn’t want whiskey, she wanted Ellie. Here! Watching movies with her. Making fun of Manny and playing fetch with Alice. She threw her door open to see Owen in the room.

“What are you doing here?” Owen was supposed to be with Calub and Jessica on patrol. Why was he here?

“I got Josh to cover. Him and Jessica are probably off banging anyway. What you got there?” He pointed to her right hand, still holding the bottle of whisky by the neck. 

“Fucking Isaac!” She slammed the bottle down like a drunk at the bar wanting another pint, even though she was as sober as can be. “Thinks a bottle of alcohol will make me forget Ellie’s not returned. Doesn’t even want to go after her. After all she’s done!”

“So she’s still gone.” Owen said.

“Yeah, where’s Manny? It’s his weekend off too.” She looked to where he always kept his bag. It was gone.

“He said he was going to the armory.” Owen told her.

“Oh he fucking didn’t.” Abby grabbed her bag and ran out with Owen on her heels. 

“Abby what is going on?” Owen grabbed her arm but didn’t slow her down.

“Only time he gets target practice is when he’s getting ready to go out.” She shoved past another WLF member and found him in the corner othe garage talking to Mel and Nora. Alice sitting next to them.

“Manny what the fuck?!”she yelled stomping over to him. 

“Abby keep it down!” He hushed her.

Mel looked up at the two new members of the conversation. “We still doing this?” 

Nora nodded. “Not backing out now.” 

Abby and Owen looked at each other before Owen broke the silence. “What are you guys planning.” 

Manny turned to Abby. “We’re going after Ellie. She might be injured and I’m not gonna sit around and wait for Isaac to give me permission to save my friend.” 

“You think I’d wait?!” Abby was insulted that Manny would think she’d just abandon Ellie. 

Mel looked at her. “Why were you talking to Isaac then?” 

“To get reinforcements that’s why.” Abby countered. 

Nora shook her head. “You knew Isaac wasn’t going to agree.” She rubbed the back of her neck. “You probably tipped him off.” 

“So it’s my fault?” Abby raised an eyebrow. “What about your little AWOL stunt?”

Manny got in the middle of everyone. “It’s nobody's fault. We’re burning daylight. Come on.” He was pushing Abby and Owen to the truck. “I’m driving. Alice calls shotgun. Now move. come, rapidez people.”

He was driving out and Abby looked at the two women across from her. “Who’s covering your shifts?” 

Nora went first. “I called in sick. Haven't missed a day of work in 5 years. They can live without me for a few days. Mel traded a 24 pack of beer to Kyra.” Melshot a side glance at Nora. “Everyone knew you had it.”

Mel asked the next question. “How are you guys not getting caught?”

“Manny and I had the weekend off, Owen traded shifts with Josh.” Abby looked up to see fucking Danny. “Danny, down.” 

This was fucking new. None of them ever thought they’d be hiding under the seats in the back of one of their trucks. After a few minutes they were sure that they were out of site but they waited for Manny. He banged on the door with his left hand and they got up.

Mel sighed. “That was close.”

Norra agreed. “He’d run to Isaac in a heartbeat.”

“Fucking kiss up.” Abby growled. Then again tell her she’d deliberately go against Isaac before Ellie joined and she’d have told you to ‘fuck off’.

Owen nodded. “Good eye Abby.”

Abby nodded and looked over the cab of the truck. We’re coming Ellie.

\-----------------------------------------

“Fuck, mmmmhh.” Ellie’s voice was all but gone. She was resting her face against her arm. Wrists being bound and held above her head, the same way she awoke to when she was first captured.

The crack of a whip shot fear down her spine, but she would never admit to it. She attempted to wipe blood from her face but all she did was spear it everywhere. She turned her head to the left to look at Nakita but the fucker was aiming for her face. 

“Urr.” She jerked her face forward. The laceration was on her cheek. She’d lost track of how long they were at it. 

“Hurr.” she felt another laceration made on her back. Sweat dripped from her nose. She could feel blood running down her back and getting absorbed into the waistband of her jeans. It stuck to her skin. Another crack and her right leg give out, which she swiftly switched her weight to her left.

Ellie heard her walking around to the front of her. She let her head hang rather than look at her. But long fingers pulled her head up. “What is Isaac planning?”

“I,” Ellie hinhaled. “Don’t,” She inhaled again. “Know.” The last word she let out was a growl. Ellie was like a broken record. Saying she didn’t know anything whenever she was asked about the plan. That or ‘fuck you’. But the latter was slowly dying out. 

“She’s not coming.” Nakia mentioned. 

Ellie never expected to be rescued. Isaac was against her from the beginning and last she checked Abby was loyal to the WLF. 

Funny. She avoided going back for so long as to not make Joel’s life harder. When she finally figured it out she got taken. Figured it had to happen eventually. She was kicking up a big mess for the Scars.

“Never,” Ellie coughed a few times. “Thought she would.”

Nakita let Ellie’s head fall once more. She walked back and came back into view of Ellie. Ellie saw what she saw holding and this time she looked at her.

“Tell me what Isaac is planning or I will give this blowtorch to my nephews and sick them on you. Get it through your thick skull.” she jabbed Ellie’s head twice with her index finger. 

Ellie looked at her right arm. She did not want to lose the tattoo. It was the only thing from Jackson left. She looked back at Nakita. “I’m not lying Ellie. About anything. If you tell me and join us you will have everything I’ve listed previously. Possibly more, no mistake you favor the bow. Most of the Serephites you killed had arrows sticking out of them. You would fit right in.”

“Fuck you.”

Nakita growled and stepped back cracking the whip before swinging it at Ellie.

  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Isaac giving Abby whiskey is a reflection of a relative I have who believes loyalty can be bought. Did I accep the gifts? Yes! But do I like him? No.


	16. Hesitation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I think this is the longest chapter I’ve written.

“Hkkk.” Ellie turned her head and coughed, spitting water out. She let out a wheeze. Trying to savor the few seconds of relief.

Ellie was strapped to a table laying on her back. The table on a 30 degree slant with her head at the bottom. “Ellie, please tell me what Isaac is planning.”

Nakita sounded so much nicer despite the horrid hell she was currently enacting on Ellie. “I don’t know anything.” 

Nakita frowned and threw the rag over Ellie’s face and started pouring water over her mouth and nose. Ellie tried to sit up but Nakita shoved her down. After A few moments Nakita pulled the rag off.

The feeling of drowning or near drowning was something that she experienced multiple times in younger years. Now it was part of her living nightmare. 

Ellie got a few gasps of air before being put under again. After an eternity Nakita relearned. “Anything you can give us will be useful.”

She refilled the pitcher she was using by submerging it in the drum of water Ellie was well acquainted with earlier. She placed it on the ground next to Ellie and put a hand on Ellie’s shoulder with the burn scar. 

Ellie had to crane her neck up to see Nakita crouching next to her. “Tell me and I will stop. I will stop this and even if you don’t join you will be a prisoner. Not killed, just held in a cell.” 

Ellie avoided her gaze. Anderson street, it happened over a week ago. That’s all she knew. “Or we could keep going?”

The rag was being brought to her face. “Wait.” Ellie hacked and put water out. Despite being severely dehydrated she didn’t enjoy breathing water. Breathing water and drinking it were completely different.

“Yes?”

She couldn’t meet the gaze of the other woman’s heterochromia eyes. “They are planning something.” She turned her head from the right to the left. Searing hot shame burned within her. “Taking Anderson street back.” 

Nakita grinned. But it wasn’t in getting information. Ellie let her head fall back and she opened her eyes enough to see Nakita.

She leaned forward and put her right hand on the side of Ellie’s face. “You, you are so talented.”

Her thumb traced the scar on her eyebrow. “You are more skillful with a bow then most Seraphites. You’ve evaded forces on your own for so long and you can make so many things from the simplest of items.” Nakita’s smile fell. “You are a great liar as well.”

“I’m not lying.”

“Oh Ellie. We all knew of the attack the day it happened. Losing the territory was sad but unavoidable. You are so talented. Too bad you refuse to talk.”

“Wait! I told you- _hhhnnnn_.”

——————

Manny stopped near the TV station. “Can’t go further if we want the element of surprise.” 

They got out of the truck and looked around. The path was littered with cars and trucks. Owen stepped forward. “Abby and I will take point. Manny you watch our backs. Nora, Mel. Stay close and let us know if you see anything.” He looked down to Alice. “And listen to Alice. If she sees anything they'll let us know.”

Manny had his rifle raised as he watched their flank. Abby took the right side and Owen took left as they moved down the street. Nora and Mel were watching the sides. That is until Alice made a small noise and put her nose to the ground. 

They followed her to the front of the TV station. “Keep an eye on the windows.” Owen whispered. 

Alice stopped and stared at a clicker. The good girl knew not to fight unless in danger or instructed to. Good thing too because the infected started to shamble to them. Abby pulled out a silenced pistol. Ellie taught her how to make one, and aimed at the head.

***BOOM***

Body parts flew in all directions. The Saltlake crew raised their arms in protection. Mel looked at the stain on the concrete before looking at Abby. The stronger of the two looked back and nodded. “Definitely Ellie.”

“You didn’t tell us we’d be walking through a minefield.” Mel said.

“I didn’t know there would be one!” Abby hissed back.

Nora pushed forward. “Just like our traps. Just have to watch where we step and don’t trigger tripwires.”

Manny grabbed Nora’s arm and looked at Abby. “Ellie doesn’t use tripwires though.” 

Abby shook her head. “Proximity mines. Last I check.”

Owen, Nora, and Mel turned their attention outward. Owen looked at Manny and Abby. “Why didn’t you say something sooner?”

Manny shrugged. “Didn’t think she’d rig the place to blow.” Just as he said that another explosion went off in the distance. Red mist flew into the air, indicating that it blew up something living, was living. 

They looked at Alice, who was staring forward. Abby petted her. “Alice smells something that way.”

“A clicker just got blown up that way.” Mel said. “We need to backtrack out of here before we end up like them, find another way.” 

“What? No, there’s a reason Ellie didn’t come back, there’s no time.” Abby told her.

Owen looked around and grabbed a brick. “There’s still an infected left. We can use bricks to lure it around.” He three it a few yards in front of him and the clicker jerked in that direction and shambled to it. From there it felt like a point and click computer game. Throw the rubble and watch it run.

Alice kept her nose to the ground. Looking at Abby occasionally before going back to sniffing. Owen chucked a rock and the thing walked straight into a mine. Everyone shot up to see infected guts falling to the ground.

“Got anymore infected?” Manny asked.

Owen turned to him. “Does it look like it?”

Abby continued forward only to have Nora grab her arm. Abby pulled away. “I’m moving up to where the infected died.” 

Alice followed Abby and looked down the street. Turning her body and taking a step forward. Abby looked down the street. She would have said it looked fine but she didn’t like the way that can wasn’t moving in the harsh wind. Call it a hunch but she pulled her suppressed pistol out and took aim.

She pulled the trigger and the can exploded, sending shrapnel in all directions. Abby looked at the others before moving forward. Alice squeezed through two trucks and the others followed. “That’s a lot of blood.” Manny observed.

Nora nodded. “But it’s old, a few days at least.” 

“But we don’t know whose it is.” Owen stated. 

Alice was pawing at the dirt and Manny went to her. “What’d you find?” Alice moved to the side as Manny pushed the dirt away and picked up the object. 

“Shit, guy’s Alice found something!” He held it out for the others to see.

Abby took one glance at it and grabbed it from his hand. Ellie’s switchblade. She rubbed the dirt off it. Blood was stuck to the blade. “Ellie fought here.” 

“Great! Where do you think they’re holding her?” Nora looked around.

Voices could be heard, and getting louder. Manny and Owen dove behind the truck to the right with Alice while Abby, Nore, and Mel took the left side. 

Two Scars squeezed through the narrow gap. “Can’t believe they actually did it, Joffrey.” The women said.

“Yeah Skye, Nak and the twins really did it. Feel bad for her though. Can’t imagine they’d be happy having someone like her. Probably having a field day with her.” the taller one said.

Abby was sneaking up being the one closest to her. She looked over to see Owen doing the same thing. “Don’t feel bad! She deserves everything coming to her.” she poked her finger at the man, almost turning around and seeing Abby.

“Yeah, your right. Just don’t let your sin consume you, sister. That girl has enough wrath in her for all of us. May she guid us.” 

“Ok, I- hmmmmm!”

“Hahhh.”

Abby and Owen grabbed them. Abby was about to break the man’s neck when Manny stopped her. “They know about Ellie.”

“Fine!” She opted out for choking out the man. “Where are we going to interrogate them?”

“Just drag them back to the truck.” He instructed and they went through the minefield. At least they knew where to go and not blow up.

They were sitting against the truck when Abby slapped both of them, getting them to wake up. She immediately got straight to the point. “Wake up Scars! Where is Ellie?”

They looked at each other and blinked. “Who?” 

“Ellie! Red hair, this tall,” She held her hand out. “Tattoo and scars. Ring a bell?” She was gesturing to her neck, where Ellie was burned when they first met.

“We don’t know her.” Joffrey said. They looked at each other again. “We don’t know her.” Skye added.

Abby’s eyes widened with anger as she launched herself at the taller one grabbing him and dragging him to the ground. From there she started punching him on the side of the face. 

The shorter one tried to get up but Alice jumped in front of her growling and snapping. She scooted as far back against the truck as she could.

Abby continued beating the man before rolling him over and slamming his ugly face into the asphalt and yanking his arm back. She started twisting it further then it could go. “I know you know where she is. Now tell me or i'm going to twist your arm out of its socket and feed you to Alice.” Abby growled.

“Oh, ok. Ellie’s being held in the Chhhmmmf!” Abby shoved a handful of dirt in his mouth and got off.

“Alice, Make sure he doesn’t go anywhere.” She went to the truck and came out with a couple pens and a sheet of paper. She tore the paper in two and handed one half to Manny. “Have her write it down.” She pointed to the one slumped against the truck.

She turned to the taller one, who was spitting out the dirt. “You are going to write down where she is being held and it better fucking match your friend’s, or I’ll have Alice eat your fucking fingers.” 

Once he was done scribbling down the location she grabbed it and went over to Manny. He handed it to her. She compared notes. 

_Courthouse basement._

_Drift St Courthouse._

Abby looked at Manny and nodded. She handed him the papers. He glanced at them, confirming it and put it in his pocket. “We gave you what you want now let us go!” Skye yelled.

Abby scowled. “You don’t get to get away.” 

She without hesitation stabbed the woman sitting against the truck. Right in the neck with Ellie’s switchblade. The man tried to run but Alice lunged! Bringing him down and ripping the throat out.

“Courthouse! It’s not that far away.” Abby jumped into the truck and started it up. 

Manny jumped in the passenger’s side. “Wait for us!”

Mel and Nora got in the back as Owen waited for Alice to get in. Ladies first.

The second he was in the truck lurched forward. Abby not being gentle with the gas pedal. Nor was she gentle with the breaks, slamming it to make a turn. 

  
  


“How’d you know to split them apart?” Manny asked.

“Ellie taught me. Said Joel did something like it when he rescued her.” Abby was not going to lose her.

————

“AAAAHHHH!” 

Ellie’s head was turned to the left as she pulled as hard as she could to get out of the grips of John and Joseph. Joseph held the blowtorch to her right arm ensuring nothing of the old world would be left on it. 

After what felt like an eon for Ellie it finally stopped. But it did little to alleviate the agony she was in. 

She was held against a table. Her feet still in the ground but her back against it with John holding her left arm and Joseph on the right. 

Joseph slammed the blowtorch on the table. “Gonna tell us yet?”

“Fuck you!” She wheezed. 

“Wrathful cunt!” John growled, pulling a dagger out and holding it in his left hand. 

Ellie saw it and tried to think of something. Mentally preparing for the end but also thinking of a way out. She expected to have the cold steel across her throat or in her gut. 

But instead she felt him carving her above her collarbone. “Huh? Hurrr.” She tried to grab him but Joseph held her down.

John sighed in annoyance. “Hold still, It’s supposed to say Wrath! Not wrat!” 

Ellie couldn’t care less what he wanted. Before she could protest she was being dragged through the hall and thrown into a room. 

She must have passed out because she was waking up some time later. Ellie took in a shaky breath. She was freezing.

She did her best to look around when she felt a metal rod. Definitely not the same room she’d been in before. She pulled on it. It was loose, the end was sharp. One more yank and it was free.

It was dark with no lighting. Ellie panicked for a moment thinking it was a rag blocking out the light. Why throw her in here instead of the other lit room? Maybe they wanted her in the dark without light? Either way they clearly hadn't thought of this as a holding cell for her. 

Now all she needed was a plan, she looked down to her arm but couldn’t see it. Probably looked as bad as it felt. With the adrenaline worm off the pain was in full effect. 

Suddenly the door slammed open and she threw herself to the left wall with the weapon. She didn’t want the light coming through the doorway to illuminate it. “You’re up.”

It was Joseph. She couldn’t fight him. Not in this condition. Her grip tightened on the metal rod in her hand. He stalked closer. “Come on, Nakita wants a word wi-ack.”

Ellie thrusted the metal at his throat. After fighting Nakita she half expected him to dodge it and kick her face in. Then drag her out by the leg.

She yanked it out and blood spewed from the new hole in his throat. He collapsed at her feet gurgling. Ellie felt an immense amount of relief knowing he was dead, but she still needed a way out. 

She saw a jacket sitting on a table in the room and easily slipped her left arm though. Her right arm… she saw it in the light. It was red and black. Charred and the tissue was exposed. Her own arm was gonna make her sick, more sick then she probably already was. She let out a small gag before adjusting the jacket. She let the other side hang off her shoulder.

She stumbled out and into the hall. Using her left arm to lean against the wall. Her feet dragging across the floor. She collapsed to her knees before pressing on. As she continued she found stairs. Fucking stairs.

Ellie cursed and lifted one leg painfully up and then the next, then the next. Her left hand gripping the railing. Going up a flight of stairs was painful. Painful for everything. Her ribs, her legs and head. As she pushed her way through the door frame a piece of wood broke over her, bringing her to the ground.

She was thrown a few feet forward. Ellie rolled over to see Nakita. “I was trying but you chose not to join us. Your talent is being wasted. Was being wasted.”

She raised a gun. Not the same one she always had on her, it was a small one. One that could fit in a pocket. Maybe a mockery? A small thing finishing her off. 

Doors burst open as Abby ran through first, followed by the rest of the crew.

Abby saw the scene before her. Ellie was pushing herself off the floor with her left arm. She raised her rifle to shoot the woman. It was her…. it was _her!_ She saw her Father for a split second _._ (I changed who killed Jerry Anderson in the chapter “spill” if you never saw my update.)

She retook aim and

* _Bang*_

But it wasn’t her gun. Ellie fell back. 

Abby gasped and unloaded her rifle at the woman but she was already down the stairs. “Come back you coward!”

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what a ride am I right? I mean with all that happened. Can you spot the different game references? One was pretty obvious but the other might be a stretch. Till next time. 
> 
> Stick with me. I got a plan.
> 
> P.S I think someone will be disappointed they believed in my kindness. Fuck those Scars who were walking and talking.


	17. Lighter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have I ever told you the definition of insanity?

Abby charged forward only to have Owen and Manny hold her back. “No Abby! We don’t know what down there!” Manny told her.

“She can’t get away with it! Let me go!”

Nora and Mel were at Ellie’s sides. A hole in the jacket where the bullet entered. They pulled the Jacket open to see the horrific burn wound on her arm and bloodied shirt.

Mel checked for the bullet wound on her. “Wait… This blood is old.” Mel said.

Nora came to the same realization and closed the jacket, looking for the bullet hole. She found it on a chest pocket and shoved her hand in it. Her fingers come into contact with metal. She pulled out a zippo lighter. Dented with a bullet stuck in it.

“She’s alive.” Mel whispered to herself. She turned to the others. 

Abby was thrashing around in the two men’s grip. Tears running down her face. “Fucking kill her!” That fucking woman didn’t do enough damage taking her father, but friend too. 

“She’s alive! Abby!” Mel was in her face shaking her by the shoulders.

“Carry her to the truck! Owen, Manny cover us.” She said.

Abby was still stunned when Nora shouted at her. “Hurry!”

Abby snapped out of it. Wiping her tears and grabbing Ellie. She ran out to the truck and laid her down. 

Manny and Owen were in the cab. Nora, Mel and Alice were in the back with her. Alice whimpered and nudged Ellie’s face with her nose. She licked her face before trying to nudge her awake again.

“Do something!” Abby yelled.

“What?! There’s nothing I can do out here! We don’t have the equipment or the meds to treat her.” Mel yelled back.

“You can’t do anything?!”

“What can I do in the back of a moving truck?! Abby this is far from ideal!” 

A groan pulled them from their bickering. Ellie’s eyes open for the briefest of moments before closing again. Labored breath could be heard coming from her.

Alice letting out louder whimpers that time tried nudging her again.

Ellie cracked her eyes open to see orange light. Kinda like the lighting in the winter dance she attended. The music played as people danced.

_ Went out one night to make a little round _

_ I met Little Sadie and I shot her down _

_ Went back home, jumped into bed _

_ 44 pistol under my head. _

Ellie hummed the last line. 

_ “Oh Ellie, they should be terrified.” _

She was terrified. Being stuck in the basement. Of losing her friends. Losing any chance to see Joel. She almost lost it all if not for them. Her friends.

They were nearing the stadium and Abby jumped up to wave at the lookout. Once the doors opened she shouted to the others. “We have one! Get a stretcher!”

The tailgate dropped and the two other women moved Ellie to the stretcher. Abby followed them until they were in medical.

When Abby went to enter she was stopped by someone. “The fuck?! Let me in!”

Nora pushed the man aside. “Abby we need the space and you have no medical training.” 

“But-“

“We’ll let you know when she’s stable.” Then Nora disappeared.

Owen and Manny were next to her. “Come on Abby. Give them space.” He looked down to Alice who was next to her. “You too girl come on.”

Alice sat down instead. “Come on. We’ll play fetch.” Alice laid down and let out a whimper. Telling Manny she was not moving. 

Inside the tent. Nora grabbed the scissors and cut Ellie’s shirt off her as Mel grabbed the supplies needed. A man was readying an IV for her.

She rolled Ellie to the side to cut the shirt more and was able to see her back. “Holy fuck.”

The man looked over and then to Mel. “I know you’re the surgeon but how the hell are you going to stitch that up?” 

Mel put the supplies down and looked at what they were staring at. “I’m more concerned with the arm. The way it looks she might have to lose it.”

Nora looked at Mel. “Are you serious Mel? Lose the arm?!”

“It’s looking that way. I’ll do what I can, maybe I can save it. Hopefully.”

————

Ellie was laying on a bed. She knew that much. Then she realized she was laying on a bed and not still in the basement. Her eyes opened and she attempted to get up but the pain she felt brought her back down.

Ellie looked down to see she was shirtless. Didn’t much matter due to all the bandages on her. She grabbed the blanket with her left arm and yanked it off. More bandages around the gunshot wound on her right leg. She was wearing basketball ball shorts. 

An IV was in her left arm. She glanced at her right arm to see the same treatment as well. She wasn’t sure whether to be happy you’re not about that. On one hand she was treated, but on the other hand it actually happened.

She heard footsteps and looked to the source. It was Mel. “What happened?”

Mel looked up from her clipboard. “Ellie I’m so glad you’re awake. Everyone was so worried. You’ve been out for 3 days.”

She threw the clipboard on a table and sat down next to Ellie. “You were nearly killed. You’re officially the luckiest person ever.”

She held the lighter out for Ellie to take. “I remember, I thought I was dead.” Ellie traced her thumb over the bullet stuck in it.

Ellie glanced at her right arm. Mel placed a hand on Ellie’s shoulder. Ellie took a sharp inhale at the surprise contact. Her ribs hurt. “You almost lost it.”

“Ohh.” Ellie was extremely grateful that she didn’t lose it. But she lost the only thing left from Jackson. 

“Alice is sitting outside. Do you wanna see the others or rest some more?”

“See the others.” 

Mel nodded. “Anything I can get you?” 

“Food?” 

“Alright.” Mel said. A few seconds later and Alice was wagging her tail approaching Ellie. She jumped, getting her front on the bed but keeping her hind legs on the ground.

“Hey girl, miss me? I bet you did.” Ellie rubbed Alice’s head and neck. “Good girl, helping out around the stadium?” She was scratching her chin when Mel returned.

“You haven’t eaten in a while. Some light food should do it.” It was bread and an apple, a glass of water was set down next to her.

She tried to eat slowly but her hunger was making it hard. Her body demanded more food. The hunger pains bringing back memories of cold nights and tending to Joel.

Elsewhere Abby and Mandy slept soundly until loud banging woke them up. Manny opened the door. “Aiden? It’s 2:30. What’s so important?”

“Mel sent me. Ellie’s awake.” 

Manny turned around and shouted at Abby. “Wake up! Ellie’s awake!”

Abby jumped up out of shock. Then processed the information and grabbed her shoes. Lacing them up and shoving Aiden to the side with Manny running behind her.

  
  


They ran in to see Alice getting her head scratched by Ellie. Nora and Mel next to her. “Ellie, I’m so glad you’re ok.”

Not sure ok was the right word but Ellie was happy to be alive. Abby had her hands on Ellie’s shoulders. Looking her over. Manny came over and placed a hand on her. “Glad to see you’re not dead El. Gave us a scare.”

Abby nodded. “Yeah, I thought you were dead. Even when Mel and Nora were done. You didn’t wake up.”

Abby’s grip was getting a little tight for Ellie. She could see the emotional toll Abby was experiencing. Ellie didn’t know what to do so she raised an arm to comfort her.

Abby pulled Ellie in and wrapped her arms around her. Ellie winced in pain but didn’t say anything. She could endure a hug. 

Only now did Ellie realize just how touch starved she was. Since getting here she hadn’t truly been in contact with anyone. She wrapped her left arm around Abby, enjoying the contact before they released each other.

“Owen’s gonna freak when he sees you alive. He'll be back tomorrow morning.” 

Alice licked Ellie’s hand. “She didn’t leave you know.” Manny told her. “Sat outside the tent all 3 days you were out.” 

Other WLF members gave her food and water. They’d pet her when they got a chance and even cleaned up after her. No one was so mean as to pull a dog away from it’s wounded companion. 

Ellie tried sitting up some more but the pain stopped her. Nora and Mel helped her. “Easy, you’ll open your wounds if you move too much.” Mel warned.

Ellie nodded. “Surprised I’m not feeling it more.”

“Well we got you on some powerful stuff.” Nora said.

“Don’t feel like it.”

Mel chuckled. “You won’t. Unless you try walking a straight line, or balancing on one foot.”

Manny rubbed the back of his neck. “I’ll talk to you later El. I’ll give you two some alone time.” Mel and Nora followed him out. Clearly something was going on. Something she didn’t know.

Abby took the seat Mel was previously on. “Hey.”

“Hey.” Ellie said back. “You guys came for me.”

“Ellie I am so, so sorry I didn’t stop her I-“

“What are you talking about? You guys came for me.” 

“No. I,” Abby wiped her mouth. “I was there. But I hesitated when I saw her. She was the same woman that killed my, that killed my father and I hesitated”

Ellie remembered that night they spilled their pasts to each other. Abby held her hands in front of her mouth. Ellie grabbed one of her wrists. “I, that must have been hard.”

“Fuck, Ellie she was was going to kill you. Shot you.”

Ellie reached over and grabbed the lighter. Abby scoffed and put it back on the table. “What were the fucking chances that there’d be a lighter in the left chest pocket? How about the fact that she used a small enough caliber that a lighter would stop it? Or, or that we were there?.. And I hesitated!”

Ellie didn’t immediately say anything. Abby could see her thinking. “Well I’m still here.”

“I won’t hesitate.” Abby said.

“Abby-“

“And I, I shouldn’t have said some things that I did before.” 

“What? No, your fine. I was being contradictory anyway.” Ellie waved her left hand to the side. 

Before Abby could say anything else Ellie sneezed. She grabbed the left side of her chest. “Mel said the shot broke a rib.”

Abby looked like she was gonna be sick. “But I should be fine in a few weeks.” Ellie quickly added. 

Alice nudged Abby, asking for a head rub. Abby did just that. “So we cool?”

Ellie smiled. “Yeah, we’re cool.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the game we never see Abby feel guilty. Like really guilt stricken on this level so I hope I stumbled though this section alright.


	18. R and R

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> September 26! Outbreak day, or TLOU day if you’re offended by the word outbreak. Yeah get woke motherfuckers! Apparently the word outbreak is disturbing in 2020. Because the world has never gone though a plague or two before.
> 
> Keep an eye out today. 3 chapters sprinkled throughout today. So I won’t just post three in one hour.

**2 Days After The Rescue**

Abby, Owen, Manny and Nora went back to the Courthouse even though no one asked. A few reasons for the unneeded field trip. They wanted to see if Scars were still present. Also if there was anything left to scavenge. Maybe slight curiosity as to what caused Ellie so much pain.

The group entered with guns raised but found no trace of recent activity. They cleared the upper floor first, as to not be surprised by an enemy when they came up from the cellar.

The hall downstairs was like a horror movie scene with a long narrow corridor. Doors on both sides. One door was open at the end of the hall with stairs going up and sunlight coming in. Telling them it was another way out. Probably how Nakita got away.

Owen and Abby went to the one to the left closest to them. A few beds were in there. Possibly three people considering only three beds. A bowl of something sat on a table and the place seemed torn apart. They left in a hurry obviously.

They went to the next one across the hall and found a dried pool of blood on the floor. A sharp metal rod next to it. “Too much blood for that to be Ellie’s, she’d of passed out and died.” Nora told them. 

The metal rod was pulled from a broken shelf. Probably put down here for storage. 

They went to the next door. The one on the left side. There were a few locks on the outside of this one. It was a mainly empty area. A metal beam was exposed in the wall. Dried blood was smeared against it with rope hanging from the horizontal beam. 

Owen walked over to the rope and examined it. Not much to note but the dark feeling he got holding it. Knowing that not that long ago it was holding a good friend. 

Abby’s emotional state was a train wreck. She was off drinking with Manny in a decently temperatured place watching the movies she loved while she sat in a freezing cellar being starved. What a fucking friend.

Owen put the rope down and made his way to the last door. When he opened he gasped. It was a fucking horror show. 

The rest came in. “Holy shit.” Nora gasped. 

More rope hung from the ceiling. Swung over a pipe and attached to a winch on the wall. Blood spatter surrounded the immediate area. 

Manny walked to a corner and lifted a whip up. “Now we know why Ellie’s back was so fucked.”

That was obviously a distraction from the real bothersome things in the room. A table with a blowtorch and a table slanted downward with a pitcher of water next to it. Straps loosely hung from it.

“Water boarding.” Owen stated. He could imagine it and he didn’t like it. Ellie laying there against her will. He shook his head, ridding the images from his mind. 

Abby's emotional state went from train wreck to train wreck on fire hurtling towards an orphanage of disabled kids. She felt as if someone punched her in the gut full force. 

Nora looked at the scene. “Now we know what happened.” She picked up the blowtorch before setting it down. 

She looked at the table. “Now we know to watch her lungs. This is terrible. It’s fucking drowning.” 

“What do you know of it?” Manny asked. He knew what it was, just not the exact details.

“The incline makes the side of your head lower than your body. Probably this rag was on her face and hey dumped water on her. With water going in the nose and mouth it makes the body think it’s downing. I can’t imagine how long it went on for…” Nora trained off. She remembered learning about it when she became a medic. One of her first patents was a victim of it.

Abby walked out of the room and into the end of the hallway. Puking in the corner. 

She was no stranger to torture. Fuck! Why was she so sick? God damn Nakita and her fucking guys. Fuck! Ellie didn’t deserve any of what they put her though. 

Owen approached her. “Abby? Are you ok?”

She couldn’t look at him. “I was watching Curtis and Viper 2. Her favorite movie with Manny getting drunk and eating in a warm room. Then crawling into a bed, Owen. All while this,” She gestured around her. “Was going on.”

“There was nothing you could have done. Abby, she's alive at least.”

“Because Manny was the one to go out. I was trying to get Isaac to help. She’s been asleep for a few days.” Abby sighed and shook her head.

“Maybe if I didn’t get pissed off she would have stayed and recovered. But instead I got mad because she was staying with us. Because she was staying with us Owen.” Abby continued.

“Abby, that’s not why you were mad. Ok? I know right now is fucked up, but she’ll wake up. You two will talk and then you’ll be spending more time with her then with me. Like before.” He let a small smile show.

“She’s better company.” Abby let out a forced chuckle.

“Then why don’t you marry her?” Owen tilted his head.

“She’s with Dina.”

“Not denying it.”

“Denying it.” Abby actually wasn’t feeling like a complete wreck anymore. But looking at the door frame made her queasy. 

“Let’s get some fresh air.” Owen told her as he took the lead heading outside. He let the others know they were heading out. 

**Few days after Waking up**

Ellie and Abby listened to Nora as she explained the terms of the agreement. “I know you hate being stuck here so Mel and I talked it over.”

“We’re letting you go, if you can follow directions.” Abby mentally laughed. Ellie following directions that medical professionals were telling her? Sure, because Ellie was so good at that.

“Is that why Abby is here?” Ellie looked at the taller girl.

“Well I figured she was closest to you and, if Manny’s better but I didn’t think that. With you being. I’m getting off topic.” 

She grabbed a bottle of something. “Antibiotics. You were sick and had a few infections. Everyday until the bottle is empty. I already counted them.” She handed the bottle to Ellie who grunted as she accepted them. Her way of saying thank you. Something Nora picked up on.

“Next is clothing. Button ups, zippers, nothing involving you putting your arms up, at least until the pain subsides. That doesn’t mean force your arms up to put a shirt on. Pain means something’s wrong. Not push against it.” She waited for Ellie to begrudgingly nod.

“Third, change your bandages everyday until I check you and say otherwise. Is it alright if Abby does it?” Nora had a feeling that Ellie would agree.

“I can manage just fine.” 

“Ellie, your back,” Nora sighed. “It needs someone else to treat it. As for your arm. I highly doubt you can do it with your nondominant hand. 

Ellie huffed. “Yeah, anything else?” 

“Try to avoid screens and bright lights. Also stay hydrated. Come back if you feel the need too.” The last part was like talking to a brick wall. Wait, the brick wall wouldn’t try to avoid her. 

The wall back was a slow one with Ellie holding her right upper arm with her left hand. Holding the arm in front of her. She didn’t move her hand, it bothered her whole arm when she did that. 

When they entered the room Ellie made a beeline for the bed. “Hey, take my bunk. It’s easier.” 

“I’ll be fine.” 

She turned and brushed her arm against the post on the bed. “Gah!” She instinctively jerked her hand away from the thing causing her pain. Which caused her more pain. 

“I’m taking top.” Abby stated.

“You never wanted it before.” 

“I could never take it from anyone before.” Abby was already laying down. Exaggerating just how comfortable it was to be laying down. Even though she was completely dressed and Ellie doubted that pistol felt comfortable digging into her back.

Abby was trying her damndest to make Ellie take the bottom bunk. So she wouldn’t hurt herself more.

It was nighttime. Mel and Nora thought that would be the best time for Ellie to move from medical to her room. Also most of the base was asleep.

Ellie looked at herself before getting into bed. She easily kicked off her shoes and pulled off her socks. Which was actually more difficult than previously imagined only using one hand, that being her nondominant hand.

She went to unbutton her flannel that Nora had put on her. Fuck. She got 2 buttons down before giving up and calling it a night the jeans were staying on as well.

It was dark. Too dark, when under the watchful eyes of the staff in medical they kept lights on. Most complained but Ellie found an odd comfort to it. It wasn’t a dark room. Eventually she drifted to sleep.

She woke up when pain flared in her right arm. For a few seconds she thought she was back in one of the rooms. But she felt the bed and remembered where she was. Falling asleep was a long process. 

Ellie woke up and was greeted with a face full of sunshine. It was Seattle. Shouldn’t it be cloudy with rain or something? She sat up and her head was pounding. She put her hand up in a poor excuse to block the light.

“Did you sleep in those clothes?” She jumped at the sudden voice. It was Owen. When she looked at him he had a smile on his face, it faltered for a second. “Glad you're ok. Sorry I’m a few days late. Some idiot mixed up the gasoline with the diesel.”

“Wow, that’s a mistake. I didn’t hear you come in.” 

“I knocked but didn’t hear anything, I Didn't expect you to be here. I was just dropping this off, but you’re awake. Here.” He gave her the switchblade.

“Holy shit! I forgot about this. Thank you.” After dealing with injuries, little sleep, and the nightmares when she did sleep she didn’t really have time to worry about her knife.

“It was pretty busted up. I cleaned it up and was gonna give it to you when I got back but you were already out from under the watch of the medics and in your room.” He trailed off.

“I hope you don’t mind, I sharpened it for you.” She felt the blade. It was razor sharp.

“Thanks.” 

The door opened with Abby coming through. “Owen, you’re back. Heard there were engine problems.” 

She looked at Ellie and stared before putting the plastic container and bottle of water down. Owen pointed to the door. “I should head out. Aiden won’t let me live it down if I’m late.”

Abby waited for him to leave. “Were you picking at your scabs?” 

“What? No, I just woke up.” Ellie defended herself. 

“Look at your chest. Look at your nails.” Abby said.

Ellie looked down to see dried and crusted blood smeared over the word on her. Her nails had blood under them as well. 

Abby handed her the water bottle and antibiotics that were sitting on the table. Ellie went to open it but realized she couldn’t grab the top without pain. “Sorry, I can open it.” Abby held her hand out but Ellie refused, taking the top in her mouth and twisting the bottle. She let the cap fall out of her mouth next to her. 

She, after wrestling with the antibiotics, got one out and took it. Abby didn’t offer her help this time, she just helped. Capping the bottle of water and putting it on the table closest to the bed.

“Your bandages.”

Ellie grabbed her shirt and slowly undid the buttons. Abby took control and undid them with ease, making Ellie jealous and looking at her arm briefly.

She threw the shirt to the side and started undoing the bandages. It was one of those medical grade things where the bandages would stick to each other but not skin. Ellie was thankful as it was pulled off. 

The gauze was no longer coming off red but now brown. Indicating that the bleeding had subsided. Even though she’d been in WLF territory for almost a week the healing wasn’t fast. 

Ellie tried turning to see her back but it was a futile effort. 

“I think we have a mirror somewhere.” Abby got up and started rifling through Manny’s things. “So he can look good, I know he has… here it is!”

She held it up. Ellie adjusted her seating and looked at it. “Shit.” Imagine a kid with a deep red crayon. Then said kid scribbled like hell all over a wall. That was her back. 

She looked down to see more markings. Just not as prevalent. She looked forward only to be surprised with something cold. “What the hell?!”

“Should have warned you. Just helps keep your wounds clean.” Abby explained.

“Freezing.”

After Abby was done in her back she went in front of Ellie. She used a cloth she wet in the sink to wipe the dried blood off her. “I can do this myself.”

“I know. I, maybe I want to do this.” 

“Why?”

“I feel responsible. If I just took the shot when my Father was in danger then he’d be alive, you wouldn’t be hurt and she’d be dead.” Abby put the cloth down. 

Ellie decided not to talk this time. Nothing would make Abby feel less like it was her fault. Abby broke the silence. “How long were you with her?”

“Nakita and the twins?” 

“That’s her name? And twins? I only saw her.” Abby remembered only seeing that woman. The one responsible for the pain in her life.

“That’s what she called herself. Twins were her nephews. I don’t know how long I was there. Few days? It felt longer.” Ellie shifted slightly, allowing Abby better access to one of the larger wounds.

“What happened?”

Ellie stiffened at the question. Abby felt it. “Shit, I just meant. I don’t mean to pry.”

“It’s fine. Kept asking me what Isaac’s big plan was.”

“I thought Isaac told you. He didn’t?”

Her silence was her answer. “Isaac wants to attack the island. He’s waiting for Fall, when storms come. He’s going to use it for cover.” 

“Why are you telling me this?”

“I figured you should know. After everything you’ve been put through, you should at least know why.” Abby explained.

Ellie remembered it. Fuck! She wanted to be pissed that Isaac didn’t tell her. But if he did… she would have spilled. But the water boarding would have stopped. She said something, she wanted to forget it.

“How are you and Owen?” Ellie changed the subject.

“Good, really good actually. We went on a date the other day if you can believe it.” Abby smiled when she said it.

“What’d you do?” Ellie asked.

“Umm?” 

“Nevermind, I don’t want to know.” Ellie didn’t need the details of the date. Especially if Abby was that hesitant to say anything.

“No, no. We did archery.” 

“Didn’t know you used a bow and arrow.” Ellie said.

“Nerf archery.” Less exciting but whatever made them happy. “Enjoyed the view and played fetch with Alice. Then had some moonshine. Want the rest of the details?” Abby raised an eyebrow suggestively.

“Not bad. I’ll tell you my last late if you remember to ask once we’re done.” Ellie promised 

Abby was finishing up on her body. 

“Now the fun part.” Abby gestured to Ellie’s arm. 

Ellie didn’t bother hiding the grimace when her arm was mentioned. She slowly extended it out. Letting Abby take it and start unwrapping the bandages. 

The week it healed did little to make it look any better. The skin, lack of skin was unsettling. Like the acid burn she did to herself, except twelve times bigger and a thousand times more painful. 

The smell of burning flesh forever haunting her. Yes, throwing a molotov at a Scar was one thing. But for her to know it’s coming from her arm. 

“Ellie, Ellie you still in there?” Abby was waving a hand in front of her face. 

“Huh?”

“I asked if this was too tight.” 

“No, it’s fine.” Ellie said. 

The only bit left was at the end of the fern on her hand, a bit on her wrist but that was it. Everything else was burned off by those sadistic fucks. 

Abby finished up and looked at her. If only she’d taken that damned shot. But like a coward she didn’t and her past is still haunting her to this day. This time Ellie was the one to interrupt her train of thought.

“irt?”

She made eye contact with Ellie. “What?”

“Need to do anything else, or can I have my shirt?” Abby didn’t even realize she was holding it. She handed it to her, helping her with the buttons. Leaving the top two undone. As to not choke her. 

Also so it didn’t rub against the cuts. Not everything was covered by bandages. If they did that Ellie would probably be in a full body cast.

Abby was going to leave remembered. “How did your last date go? With Dina. 

“Dina and I got high.”

“Starting strong, I like it.” Abby grinned.

“That’s it.” Ellie had a grin on her face telling a different story.

“What?! Are you serious? I tell you my romantic evening with Owen and you too fuck like horny teenagers after weed, so nice.” Abby uttered.

“We were on patrol. But it was a blizzard.” Ellie never denied the action Abby clearly stated.

“Even more unbelievable. At least Owen and I carved out a night for each other. You’re worse than Manny.” She pointed to the corner his bed was in. 

“Don’t think anyone is worse then Manny.”

“I really want to meet Dina. See if she’s all you say.” Abby said.

“You don’t believe me?”

“The problem is I do.”

  
  



	19. The Conversation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next one will be up before Sunday. For me anyway. Don’t know anyone else’s time zones.

_ Ellie was running through the TV Station with Scars hot on her heels. She looked back to see them getting close. 2 males and a female.  _

_ She ran into a deadend. Quickly thinking she shattered the window and vaulted through. Then continued running. She thought she was clear when a hand grabbed her throat and lifted her.  _

_ It was Joseph. But he was bleeding from his throat. Ellie tried kicking but for some reason her legs seemed disconnected from the rest of her body. Like they were there but off. _

Ellie gasped and looked around. It was around 4:30, if the light outside was any indication. She wiped her face with her left hand and sat up. 

It’d been a month and her body was getting better. Her back now is just a mess of angry dark pink lines. The gunshot wound was pretty much healed and she was off the meds. The only thing holding her back was the arm. 

Still needed to be covered unlike the rest of her. That was the biggest mood killer despite how well it was going. Aside from everything that happened. Not just the recent events but everything.

No stimulati just sitting. The concussion from before made so she couldn’t stand screens and reading strained her eyes. She couldn’t even sleep it off. 

At least she was able to do some sketchings and even play the guitar, but only for short intervals now. Maybe watch some movies as well.

Manny dropped off a few books on explosives. Where he found them he never said. Just his usual response. ‘I have my ways.’

Ellie got dressed, buttoning her flannel. Not because she still couldn’t use pullovers. But because she actually got a few compliments on it. Whitney, Owen, and Abby all said good things. Manny complimented her by cussing her out because she was competition. Even though she had eyes for only one girl.

She reluctantly got off the bed. Trying to rest was futile anyway. A few hours of rest would do. 

She slowly left their room. She imagined when she walked through it, she was walking out of her place to see Dina waiting. As she walked she thought of greeting Tommy and Joel on her way to patrol.

‘I wonder what Joel will say when I finally show up?’ Probably be extremely shocked. Gasp and hug her. She knew he’d swear somewhere in the mix. 

She walked straight into Owen.

“Hey, Watch where you’re go- oh, didn’t know you were up this early. You normally sleep in.”

“What are you doing up this early?” She asked.

“I’m always up this early. You aren’t. How come? Couldn’t sleep?” 

“Something like that.” 

“Well maybe you could tag along and I could show you something.” He offered.

“I dunno, what is it?”

“Come on, let’s get breakfast. Then we can go. Oh and leave a note for Abby. She worries.” Owen told her.

Ellie scribbled out She was with Owen. Then followed him to the cafeteria for breakfast. 

Ellie and Owen sat together. It was pancakes. Before anyone gets excited it was two small ones. Prison style small with a few decade old syrup watered down. Some days Ellie thought it was prison.

“So you gonna tell me what we’re doing today?”

“Nope. Just gotta wait.” 

Owen walked out with Ellie. “Come on, we can walk.” 

The walk outside the walls was nice. After being cooped up for so long a nice stretch of the legs was welcoming. Unfortunately due to recovery Ellie’s leg muscles weren’t what they once were and she slowly started lagging behind Owen. 

They reached an actual bench that survived the apocalypse. “Imagine What it was like before the outbreak.” Ellie thought aloud.

“Probably crowded and loud. The movies can’t be too far off right?” 

“Yeah, minus the gun fights. That was entertainment. What do you think you’d be doing if the outbreak never happened?” Ellie asked.

“Probably would still have joined the military. When my time was up I could go back in or go to college. Apparently they’d pay for it and a bunch of other stuff. So a lot of options.” He looked at her. “You?”

“Astronaut.” 

“Quite the dream. Pretty lonely.”

Ellie and Owen continued Until they reached the aquarium. Owen pulled out a ring of keys and unlocked the door. “Where’d you get those?”

“While back I found this place. Found the keys inside. Ever since this is where I’ve been when I’m not at base.” He pushed open the door and gestured for her to enter. 

“Holy shit.” The place was illuminated by sunlight but there were lights strung about.

“Figured you needed to get away.” He turned and pointed a finger at her, his face getting a serious yet pouting look on it. “Don’t tell anyone though.” 

“Won’t say anything.” 

“Good, come on. We can throw darts. I got a target upstairs. Maybe enjoy the view, got some records around too.” They walked up the stairs and into his bedroom, but it was large enough to fit a gathering of people. Nice and spacious like the rest of the aquarium.

Ellie fitted with the dart he gave her. “Sorry, if you’d rather do something else we can. Just didn’t object.”

“Nah, just have to do it with my left hand.”

“Oh well, I can do that too.” Owen shrugged and switched hands. He pulled his arm back and confidently threw the dart at the board, right into the wall.

Ellie threw hers and it hit the very edge of the board. “Better than your throw.”

“Yeah well darts are like the predecessors of the bow and arrow. Minus the bow and smaller the arrow.” 

“That doesn’t make any sense.”

“Doesn’t need to.” He loosened his shoulders and let fly another dart. Into the wall. Ellie wasn’t that much better, the wall getting more hits then the dartboard. But Owen didn’t care.

After a few rounds of seeing who could hit the wall less. Currently they were enjoying the view of the city and ocean a bit further out. This band he liked was playing, Rise Against. “So how is Jackson?”

“Quieter than here.”

“Abby told me it sounded like a nice community. With a bar and horses, that kinda thing.” 

Ellie nodded. She knew all the “important” people because she knew Tommy and Maria. Joel, even though he wasn’t a leader, was a well known man that was given a lot of respect. It was a close knit community.

“Do they accept new people?” Owen asked. “Or is it one of those shoot on site places.”

“Like here?” Ellie asked.

“Umm, sorta. Yeah.”

“No, new people come and sometimes traders stop for a night.” Ellie explained.

“Sounds nice. Way better than fighting a war.” Owen took a sip of his hooch. Ellie tried it and decided to enjoy the view. 

“Abby said it’s in Wyoming? Pretty far in. I mean we’re looking at the sea. How big is it?”

Ellie glanced at him. “Big enough to hold its ground.” 

“That’s good. Umm, say I…. Abby, the group probably wants us back. I don’t say how long we’d be out.” He put his cup down and got up. 

The trek back was slow. “What were you saying before? When you remembered they wanted us back.” Ellie asked him.

“It’s nothing. Just curious what would happen if new people came is all. We shoot on site. Curious if there was a group out there different.” He told her.

Owen and Ellie walked into her room. Abby, Manny and Mel were in there as well, standing around. Looking like they were waiting on her. Ellie looked around. “What’s going on?”

“Talking.” Mel said.

“About what?”

“You.”

Manny took a step forward. “Ellie, we need to talk.” 

“About what?”

Mel stepped past Manny. “Once you recover you need to take the vehicle Isaac promised you and go.”

Ellie was stunned at what Mel just told her. “Why are you telling me this?”

Abby sighed and looked at her. “Ellie, don’t you see? Isaac's gonna run you into the ground before you get the chance to leave. If you pass up this opportunity.”

Owen nodded. “It wasn’t Isaac that sent us, I’m sure you know.”

Ellie knew it. Nora and Mel told her how Manny put together that little mission. Also how Abby went to Isaac and he didn’t agree with her. How he tried to buy her obedience.

“So you guys are kicking me out? What does Nora have to say about this?” Ellie questioned.

Abby nodded, looking at the others. “Nora knows but she can’t be here, she needs to treat a few wounds. But she backs us, and we’re not kicking you out.” Abby rubbed the back of her neck. “But what we are telling you is the best option you’ll get.”

“Ellie,” Manny got her attention. “If you’re still around when the attack comes he’s gonna put you on the front line without any backup. You’ve done enough suicide missions.” 

Ellie lost count of how many arrows she pulled out of herself and cut she’d wrapped up. Her first day in Seattle consisted of getting a molotov thrown at her.

She tilted her head to the right. Feeling the strain of the scar tissue on her left shoulder and neck. “So you all voted without me even knowing?”

”No, we didn’t vote without you, we're giving you our opinion to a friend being exploited by Isaac!” Manny said, his accent inning though.

“I thought you guys like being here part of the WLF?”

Owen exhaled loudly. “The WLF are far more equipped than we ever were and they have more troops and more bases for sure. But we didn’t join them out of want, we joined them because we needed to. We were a bunch of displaced Fireflies.”

Shit, why didn’t she think of that before. Salt Lake crew? Same place that they were going all those years ago. When she and Joel crossed the country. It for some reason didn’t click. 

“You guys were Fireflies…”

Abby shrugged. “What's it matter? Our numbers were decimated years ago and our leader killed.”

“How?” She knew the fucking answer, but what did they know it was her question. 

“Some cabrón went on a killing spree.” Manny spat.

Owen held his hand out. “Hey, That cabrón was saving a little girl, and they traveled across the country together.”

Manny sighed. “Yeah, they did. But what about the cure?” 

Mel shook her head. “Hippocratic oath. It was unethical to do what was happening, we all knew that. Jerry knew that.”

Abby remembered what her father told her when he recounted that day. The man that barged in, the eyes are a gateway to the soul. He said he could see everything. That man’s anger and hatred towards him. But also the love and fear of losing the kid on the table. She remembered her father talking with her after they got out.

_ “Dad if you didn’t want to do it why were you going through with it?” She asked. _

_ He wiped his eyes, “I, I was a coward. I should’ve said no. But I didn’t.” When a bunch of people with guns know you could possibly make a cure. That’s all that needs to be said. _

_ “What about the cure?” Abby asked. _

_ “Even if I somehow made one how would we even distribute it? I know I vowed to help everyone I could, but I can’t. I’m not going to give the cure to people like the bandits that killed your mother.” He told her as his breath shook. _

_ “What about people like you, me, and the other Fireflies?”  _

_ “Power corrupts, but absolutely power will corrupt absolutely. What’s to say a cure wouldn’t do that to the Fireflies?” He asked her. _

_ “Dad!” _

_ “Abby,” He was tearing up. “I wish you grew up like me. Playing ball and going to school. Lookout for the people that lookout for you. This world isn’t worth it, making a doctor kill a kid.”  _

Yes Abby was definitely fucking pissed that someone shot up their base but if it was her father on the line? For a possible cure for a bunch of assholes running around the world? She wouldn’t do it. 

Her father recognized it. Knew it was wrong. She could know it was wrong as well. But at the time she didn’t know the Fireflies were persuading him with hints of violence at the time.

“Mel is right.” Abby said. “My father regretted ever agreeing to do it. But we’re getting off topic. Ellie, the vehicle?”

“Ok.” Ellie took a step back. “What about you guys?”

“Manny and I are probably leading the attack. He always calls on us.” Abby told her.

She turned to Mel and Owen. “She’s a surgeon. No way they put it on the front lines, same with Nora. I’ll be right behind Abby.” Owen told her.

  
  


“And you’ll all be fine?” 

Mel nodded. “Once your arm heals you’ll go. But this is all in your best interest. If you want to be Isaac’s attack dog we won’t stop you.”

“No, I get it. But you all are staying to fight?” Ellie asked.

“What choice do we have?” Owen asked her.

Yeah, what choice did they have. Ellie nodded and sighed. Time was gonna fly for her.

  
  
  
  



	20. Owen

Time flew by after the conversation. Every day seemed like seconds. Every week went before she realized it passed. She was gonna do it. She was actually going home. 

Home. Ellie had grown to call this room home. The nice view, some sketches of Dina. The books on explosives laying on the bed. Even the multiple bases that she visited. 

Nora and Mel really helped with her recovery, making sure to tell superiors that she was not to go out onto the field and if she did work it would be light work. 

Ellie started shooting a bow and arrow they had for practice. But only a few at a time before her arm started bothering her. She was going to the shooting range anyway.

“Hey! Isaac wants you.” It was Aiden, and Isaac wanted her. She turned and started walking towards the door. She probably should’ve acknowledged Aiden but she was already in a bad mood. 

She knocked on the door and it opened. Isaac stood farthest away with Abby and Manny to the side. She took a step in and closed the door.

“These small skirmishes. We can’t keep doing this.” Isaac said.

“Then what?” Manny asked.

“We could try another truce. But how long until an asshole on their side, or our side unravels the whole thing?... no, it has to be all of them.”

“We’ve tried attacking their island.” Abby told him.

“Not like this. Not with everyone. There’s a storm about a week out. We’re gonna use it to mask our approach. You three will lead the first attack.” He looked at the map. Then at them. “Pick your squads. Then start prepping.”

“I want Owen. When are he and Danny getting back?”

“I thought you wanted Ellie, and she’s right here.” He pointed at Ellie.

“But I also want Owen. Any idea when they’re getting back?” Abby persisted.

“Who talked? Nora?”

Ellie heard the story through the grapevine. So she wasn’t shocked senseless but a bit jarring it wasn’t some rumor.

“No secrets between the Salt Lake crew. Plus one. Huh?” He sat against his desk.

“Is Owen okay?” Abby took a step in Isaac’s direction.

“As far as I know.” 

“Then why haven’t you sent a search party out for him?” 

“He shot Danny. Apparently to protect some Scar.” 

“Bullshit!”

“Excuse me?”

“That’s not Owen. You got it wrong.”

“You saying Danny would use his last breath to lie to me?” Isaac questioned.

“Sir, if people hear that story, Owen’s dead. They’ll gun him down for sport.” Manny said.

“Then I suggest y’all stop gossiping about it.” The gruffness Of Isaac’s voice coming through.

“Let me go after him. I’ll walk him back in. We’ll get to the bottom of-“ Abby tried to reason 

“No.”

“You said it yourself. The storm’s a week away.”

“No! We’ve only got one shot at this. This is bigger than any of us. Definitely bigger than Owen.” Then he ate his apple. 

“If he turns up then fine. I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt, and we’ll get to the bottom of it. I need you Abby. Yeah?” He patted her bicep.

“Yeah, I get it.” 

“Good. Look over your plans. Pick your squad and grab some food. Ellie, a word?”

Ellie paused and turned. Facing the leader. “Ellie, I keep my word. You can have any vehicle.”

“Didn’t think you’d go back on your word.” Ellie told him. A passive aggressive way of asking him why he was telling her he kept his word.

“Glad you trust me.” That was not what she meant. “This attack could end the war we’ve been fighting for years.”

He looked to her, then out the window. “Help end the conflict and you’ll get your supplies.” He fully turned to her this time. “I don’t want you screwing yourself over. Don’t play hero.” 

Didn’t take a genius to get the message. Don’t go after Owen was what he told her, without saying those words. “Look out, all these people. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. You understand. Right?”

“Yeah.”

“Good. Because I know people like you.” He told her. Ellie raised an eyebrow at the statement. “You understand the cost of living in a world where you fight to live.”

“What are you saying?”

“What I’m saying is the WLF needs more like you.”

“After this war is done. I’m going home.” 

“Yes, you do that. Where was your home? Far away?”

“Nothing I can’t drive to.” Ellie wasn’t gonna give him anything. The Salt Lake crew may know but she trusted them not to talk. Funny, she trusted them. Trust was such a rare thing.

“We’ll get your squad ready. We’re gonna have a big day soon.”

Ellie walked out and to her room. Where her shit was. She knew something was up. Abby’s stuff was gone.

After hearing what happened with Owen she knew where Abby was going. She reached for her bag when the cloth around her right arm came loose. 

She grabbed the strip hanging and firmly tightened it around her forearm again. It looked like medical tape wrapped around her arm, but it was just cloth. Personally she thought it looked better than the bandages. Reminded her of when she needed to cover it when it was bitten.

Getting out was relatively easy. Just a fence jump and a crawl through some mud and she was good to go. The WLF really needed to tighten security. Then again who would attack the stadium?

She ran into Manny in the way there. “Ellie, what the fuck are you doing? Isaac will kick your ass!”

“Going after Owen.” 

“If you’re caught AWOL…”

“You guys did it for me. Owen did it. I can’t just let him down now. I’ll be back. Cover for me? Please.” Ellie asked.

“You sound more like Abby by the minute. Come on.” He was getting into position to help her over the fence.

“Where are you even going?” He asked through the fence.

“If I’m not back… the aquarium.” She turned and headed out. She knew trouble was brewing.

Ellie finally got to the aquarium. It was dark out. She should’ve been there earlier but her damned arm was bothering her and she continued focusing on that instead. 

Ellie went in and looked for Owen. She’d only been here once and it was only for a few hours. She didn’t know the whole aquarium’s layout, or if he was even here. It was a shot in the dark.

“Owen?”

“Owen?”

Ellie walked down some stairs and rounded a few corners when she heard a noise. Ellie pulled out her pistol and turned the corner to be face to face with the end of a barrel. 

“Ellie?”

“Abby?”

“Ellie, what are you doing here?” Abby put her gun away.

Ellie holstered gets as well. “Looking for Owen. He helped me when I was taken.”

“You know you’re throwing everything you worked for out the window. Right?” Abby asked.

“Wouldn’t have mattered if I was dead in a courthouse.” Ellie said.

Abby nodded and started walking. Abby paused. “Come.”

Ellie followed her to an outdoor entertainment area. A boat was docked in it. Abby got in it and Ellie followed. She walked down to see Owen.

Ellie looked at the scene. He was drinking that god awful hooch. This must be bad.

“That’s fucking cruel. He sends you two. The dynamic duo.” He grumbled and looked down. 

“He didn't. What's all this?” She picked up a part. 

“Trying to fix her back up. But the thing was stripped and what wasn’t is fucking rotted.” His face falling by the second.

Abby walked in further and Ellie joined them. “Want some?”

Accept that? Luckily Abby beat Ellie to the answer. “No thanks…. Danny’s dead.” 

“Figured.”

“Want to tell us what happened?” Abby sat on a seat to the right of Owen. Ellie sat next to Abby. Listening.

“We were cleaning out a small camp. Just a couple Scars and uh… I hit this one on the head. Hard. And he goes down and his weapon’s right there, and he doesn’t go for it. Instead he turns to me. And he’s old. And tired. He was just ready.”

“I killed a lot of Scars. And uh. Fucking guy. I couldn’t do it. Course Danny gets in my fucking face about it. I told him I’m done. He can do it himself if he wants. Then he points his fucking gun at me. So I grab it and then. At first I didn’t even know which one of us was shot.” 

Abby got up and walked to the middle of the room. “You defended yourself.”

“Stop.”

“I can fix this. I’ll talk to Isaac.”

“I am tired Abby. I don’t want to fight over land that I don’t give a fuck about anymore.” He put his cup down. “I don’t want to do this.”

He made direct contact with Ellie. Then looked away as he spoke. “Fuck all of this. I want to live a life that isn’t fighting every day for a faction that doesn’t give a fuck about its own.”

“Owen…”

“When Ellie was gone no one gave a shit about her. I’m a traitor and no one gives a shit about me. And if something happened to you they wouldn’t give a shit.” Owen exclaimed.

He looked at Ellie once more. Asking a silent question. Abby caught on. “Owen, you’re gonna leave the WLF? Me?”

“I never said that. What choice do I have? I already burned my bridge with the WLF.”

“You don’t know that.”

“And I'm still an enemy to the Scars.” He told her.

“So pack up and leave?”

“Abby I never said I’d abandon you or anyone. Besides me and Ellie talked. Jackson is a big community that doesn’t have a war going. They take in strays. Right Ellie?” He turned to her. 

Ellie’s eyes widened, not ready to be put on the spot. “Umm, yeah. A family came through a few months before I left wanting a place to live.”

“See Abby. A place without war. Peaceful.” Owen pleaded.

There was still a list of problems. Ellie was expected to be participating in the upcoming battle. Leaving before might get her a target on her back. Then there was Owen not being found by either WLF or Scars. Also surviving said attack. 

“Come on Owen. Let’s get some rest.” She extended a hand to pull him up.

“Nah, you guys get some rest. I’ll uh, stay here.” He pointed to the seats to his right.

“Then in that case, I’m staying too.” She sat next to him. 

Ellie felt very odd. Very third wheeled. She got up and pointed to the exit. Owen put his hand up. “It’s dark. You remember where my room is right?”

“Yes.”

“Stay there the night. Just take your shoes off. I cleaned this morning.” He told her.

She smiled and nodded. He really did make this place his home. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here you go. Third today.


	21. High

Ellie was tossing and turning in the bed. She woke to rain outside the window. A gutter was broken, causing water to splash outside the window. She watched it as a sinking feeling grew in her.

She swallowed a lump in her throat. “Fuck you.” She grumbled, staring at the water splashing against the window. 

She headed to the entrance to watch out for danger. She didn’t like feeling exposed. Besides, she couldn’t sleep anymore. A nightmare usually killed the idea of sleep. 

Ellie walked out to find Abby in a rush. “Where are you going?”

“Shit! Ellie, it’s not important. Just go back to sleep.” Abby said.

“Abby, it’s the middle of the night. Whatever’s going on, it’s something.” 

“It’s, it’s complicated.” 2 of the enemies saved her life and her friend standing not 2 yards away was still recovering from the torture she endured by their faction. But it wasn’t them, they were just kids.

“Abby, if you’re in trouble tell me.” Ellie walked forwards. Worried for her friend’s safety.

“No it’s, some Scars got the jump on me on the way here.” Abby explained.

Ellie’s eyes widened. no shit she was shocked, after the shit she went through. “Abby, what the fuck?”

“I was saved by two of them. One is in pretty bad shape. I was just making sure they left the trailers…. they’re just kids.” Abby added.

“Abby, who saved you exactly?”

Abby shifted her weight to one leg. “A couple of Scars. They’re just kids.” She repeated.

“So you were going to head out in the middle of the night?”

“Just checking on them.”

“If you got caught once what’s to say it wouldn’t happen again and we wouldn’t have known. Not until we woke up and searched the place.” Ellie said. 

“I’ll be back before the afternoon.”

“Bullshit! What’s to say they didn’t rat you out?”

“Because they’re running from them as well. The older one, Yara got her arm bashed with a hammer. They’re not with them.” Abby explained.

“Fuck, there no changing your mind. Is there?”

“No.”

Ellie took a moment to digest the information. “If that’s really your case, I’m coming with you.”

“What? But you’re still recovering.”

“I’m gonna be fighting in a few days. I’ll be fine. I’m not letting you go out on your own Now where are we going?” She asked.

“Construction site. Where the trailers are.” Abby pushed out the doors.

Ellie and Abby went there without a hitch. “There, that’s where I last left him.” She pointed to the trailer and went up the stairs. 

Ellie couldn’t believe she was helping them. No, she was helping Abby. Big difference. 

Whenever you open the door A gun went off causing Abby and Ellie both to take cover. “Don’t come any closer!”

Ellie pulled out a sidearm pulling the slide back ready for a gun fight.

Abby put a hand on the gun and shook her head. “Don’t.”

“Lev! It’s me, Abby!”

A young boy with a shaved head came out. “Abby?” He looked to see Ellie with her pistol in her hand. 

“Who’s she?”

“A friend. Ellie put the gun away.” 

Ellie put the pistol in her holster but kept her eyes on Lev as they walked into the next room. Looks could be deceiving. 

The site she saw hit close to home. The young woman’s whole arm was red and swollen. Even if it wasn’t torched it didn’t take a medic to know she was in immense pain.

Abby immediately went to her and picked her up. Lev stopped her from getting out the door. “What are you doing?”

“Giving her a chance.” 

Ellie knew that the woman was definitely not a threat. But she did keep an eye on Lev. 

On the way back they encountered a clicker blocking the way. Ellie pulled out her switchblade and snuck up behind it. Then jammed her knife into its throat. Even though infected guts never did truely come out, she be damned if it didn’t feel good not being cooped up recovering.

Lev was walking beside Ellie keeping a lookout for potential threats. 

Ellie pushed open the doors to the aquarium. They were looking for Owen. He rounded the corner and saw it. 

“Abby are those Scars?”

“They saved me.”

Alice came out and tried lunging at them but Owen stopped her. 

“No Alice! Lev put the bow down!” Abby hollered. 

Ellie yelled at Alice. “Alice no! Down!”

Then Manny and Mel came running. Manny took one look at the scene and gasped. “Ellie what the fuck is going on?!”

Abby pushed forward. “She needs help.”

Mel’s medical training kicked in as she examined it. “What did this?”

“A hammer. It wasn’t me.” 

They took her to a lit room where Mel could work. Manny staring at Ellie, Ellie watching Lev, and Lev watching Yara. The tension was so thick it could be cut with a knife.

“She has compartment syndrome.” Mel announced.

“What does that mean?”

“It has to come off.”

“You can’t take her arm, she’s a soldier.” Lev protested.

“If I don’t she’ll die. But we’re far from ideal. I don’t have the right tools or anesthesia.” Mel told everyone.

Owen thought for a moment. “We got fire, knives. Cut and cauterize.”

“She’ll die of infection. Here make me a list, I’ll run to the hospital.” Abby offered.

“That’ll take days to get there and back.”

“I don’t mind.”

“It’s not about you. She doesn’t have that time.” 

Lev interrupted. “What if I can get you there in 2 hours.” 

“How would you do that?” Abby asked.

“We have bridges on the top of buildings. It’s how we avoid the flooding, and you people.” He explained.

“Lev, that’s fucking high.” Ellie said.

“How do you know?”

“Umm, when I was out.” Ellie trailed off. She didn’t exactly want to tell this kid she was probably responsible for most of the deaths since she arrived. 

She did see a bridge once when clearing a building. She climbed up to make sure none were hiding and she saw it. 

“You were out?”

Owen held his hand up. “It’s Scar territory. Aren’t there going to be Scars there?”

“Not many.”

“See Owen, not many.” Abby looked to Ellie for backup.

Ellie didn’t want to say anything. Thankfully Mel cut in. “Here’s the list.”

Abby grabbed it and headed out with Lev on her heels. Ellie reluctantly followed. She was uncomfortable around him. Even if he was a scrawny kid. 

Manny grabbed her arm. “I’m coming with.”

“No, three is enough. Besides, Mel is occupied with her. Help Owen keep a lookout for trouble.” She told him and pulled from his loose grip.

“Ok.” He turned to Ellie. “Come back safe El.”

She nodded and headed out. 

“The two men are Manny and Owen. Mel is the doctor and your Abby and Owen?” Lev asked.

“What about Alice?”

“I don’t really like dogs.” He told her.

Ellie fiddled with the long strip cloth that was wrapped around her right forearm. It was long enough to form two and a half layers of cloth over her forearm. 

Soon they were jumping on wet rocks trying not to split their heads open to get to the tall building. Ellie listened to the conversations. 

“So can you tell me why they want to kill you?”

“I shaved my head.” 

“So they want to kill a little boy because he shaved his head?” Abby asked.

“It’s against their rules.” Lev told her.

“So you did it anyway?”

“Yes.”

“Cool.” Abby said.

“Cool?” Lev questioned. The word losing its slang meaning on him.

“Punk, like you don’t follow the rules.” Abby tried to explain. 

That little sentence got a tug on Ellie’s lips. Not a smile but the feeling of one before it’s shown. 

“Up here.” He told them.

Ellie looked at both of them. Then headed up when they were letting her go first. She grabbed the ladder rungs and climbed. She pushed open the cover when one of them grabbed her and yanked her though the trap door and slammed her on the ground.

“Wolf!” He hollered, slamming her down once more. 

Quickly she looked around and grabbed a piece of broken glass and shoved it in his neck. The man grabbed her arm but she yanked it free and stabbed him again with it. 

She shoved the body off as Abby and Lev cane though the opening. 

“Lily!”

“Shouldn’t have come back Lily!”

“It’s the apostate!”

Abby shot one in the neck as he ran at them. The other two were a bit more difficult as they hid behind cover.

Fuck this. Abby lit a pipe bomb and threw it at one Scar just as Ellie threw a molotov causing a loud boom with fire. They looked at each other for a second. Neither one coordinated the simultaneous throw.

Abby smiled and looked at Ellie again. She missed this, being out with her friend. But she realized she was there for a reason, to Lev’s sister. 

“Hey Ellie, your.” She held up her forearm.

Ellie saw the man had clawed at it and she went to re-wrapped her arm but Abby beat her to it, tightening the cloth before fastening it. She noticed Lev watching out the corner of his eye before looking away. Abby didn’t pay attention.

“Thanks.” Ellie mumbled. 

Abby nodded. It was no secret that Ellie kept it covered. “Not a problem.”

She turned to Lev and saw he was nicked. “You’re bleeding.”

“I’m fine. You heard what they called me?”

“Yes.”

“Do you want to ask?”

“Do you want us to?”

“No.”

“Then we won’t.” Abby respected his wishes. Roping Ellie into respecting him. Not that Ellie needed to be told to respect anyone. She wouldn’t say anything. She wasn’t one to start shit, but she didn’t take shit either.

Lev led the way coming up on a wrecked part of the building. Ellie lowered her herself as she seemed to strut across the planks of wood with ease. 

“Ohhh, ok. Lev this is high.” Abby said.

“You’ll be alright. One foot in front of the other.” He encouraged.

Abby started to walk but seeing how high she was stopped her. “Hey, look at me.”

Ellie extended a hand to Abby, walking onto the plank. Abby reached out and grabbed Ellie’s hand, then jumped to solid ground. Her breathing was labored. “How much farther Lev?”

“Almost there.” He said, running forward.

Ellie looked at the art of this woman they considered a god. She had to admit it was beautiful, the way they painted over the glass, how the light showed though. 

“Woh that’s kinda freaky.” Abby said. Clearly she didn’t appreciate art. But Ellie had to agree with the statement. Even though it was beautiful, it was all for a single woman.

“I think you could benefit from her teachings.” Lev told Abby. Ellie realized she was spacing out again because she missed the beginning of the conversation. 

“They attacked a troop transport and  _ torture _ people.” Abby’s voice dropped towards the end.

“She didn’t want any of this. We only started killing people after she died. They twisted her words. They were never violent.” He told Abby. But Ellie listened as well.

“She was a protector and guider. Not a killer. She hates violence.” Lev continued. 

Ellie wanted to protest but she didn’t. Then they got onto an elevator. “Oh my god Lev?! How high are we going?!”

“We’re almost there. Think of the good things about fear. Like you’re stronger, more focused. You’re prepared for danger. Your true strength. Only when I am at my weakest am I at my strongest.”

Ellie looked up, then back down. They were higher than the clouds. No wonder most WLF members don’t see the bridges. She looked to see Abby shaking and holding herself. She’d never tell Abby this but she did get a slight high off of this. Like jumping off that dinosaur all those years ago. Except if she fell there was no water to break her fall.

They made their way to the bridge. Oh it was comical how fucking exposed it was. “And Scars use this all the time?”

“Seraphites, and no, it’s not the most popular route.”

“Aren’t you afraid of anything?!” Abby shouted to Lev.

“I don’t like the water.” He told her.

Ellie could understand the fear. Only recently in her life had she been taught. Maybe Abby could show him. If he is still around.

Lev danced across as Abby gripped the edge and inched forward. “Lev I don’t think I can do this!”

“Yes you can!”

“Fuck!” Abby’s leg slipped. 

“You ok?!”

“Yeah!” Abby yelled back.

As Abby made her way to a platform to stand she turned to Ellie who was holding onto the handle. Moving at a decent speed. After getting off she turned to Abby. “How you holding up?”

“Not the greatest.”

Ellie looked past her. “One more and we’ll be on another building. Ok?”

Abby looked at Ellie. She saw Ellie looking right back at her. She nodded. “Ok,” she turned to Lev who saw it and took off onto the next set of treacherous steps.

Why the fucking fuck were there god damn heights! Abby shuffled across and looked down seeing nothing. “Oh fuck.”

Her limbs froze in place with her on her knees and a hand. 

Lev called out to her. “Look at me!”

But she refused to move. “Abby,” Ellie moved to Abby. “I’m right here.”

“Give me your hand, the one on the floor.” Ellie gripped the railing with one hand and extended the other. 

Abby slowly reached up and Ellie grabbed it. She guided it back to the railing. She looked at Lev. “I’m still waiting for all that true strength to kick in!”

“Cold.”

“Cool!” She corrected him.

Ellie smiled. If Abby was too busy correcting Lev then she wasn’t focused on her fear.

“So, What’s up with you and Ellie?” 

“Oh my god Lev! Now?!” This was not the fucking time for friendship bracelets and sleep overs! 

“You two seem close.”

“Move. Lev.” Abby demanded as she finally made it to the other side. 

They were on solid ground again! “Lev I could hug you!”

“You’re not gonna want to hug me soon.” He told her.

If Ellie thought the last section was comically dangerous this was hilarious. There were no rails and they were going even further up. Not that a few feet would change the outcome at this height. This was fucking high, and without rails or walls to block the wind? Fuck she wastepted to turn around herself. But didn’t voice it.

Abby started but soon was on her knees on the walkway. “Just keep going!” Lev shouted.

Abby made it to the ladder and climbed down with Lev. When she saw what she had to cross next she grabbed the pole and didn’t let go. 

Ellie looked past her and saw it. The support beams were too far apart for her to grab at the same time. She inches closer to the beam Abby held. She kept her knees bent to stabilize herself.

“Lev I can't do this!” 

“Come on!” Lev was out holding his hand up. The other gripped to the beam. Abby tried reaching but couldn’t. She felt a hand go to her wrist. 

“Go.”

Ellie held onto her right hand. Realistically Ellie knew that doing it was futile. There was no way she could hold both of them up with her right hand if Abby fell. 

Luckily she made it to the next beam. Now it was Ellie’s turn. Ellie lowered her center of gravity and put her arms out. From there she took one step forward. Then the next not looking down. From there she lunged to the beam. Grabbing it with the fear of death, mainly because it was there.

Each time they did that to get across it was a nightmare. 

By the last one they were all exhausted. Even Lev, who didn’t have a fear of heights. “Ok, ok, I did it!”

Abby looked at the path they crossed. “I Lev, Ellie did you see it?”

Ellie nodded, if she felt relieved that it was over then Abby must have been ecstatic. “Great job.” She nudged Abby and smiled. 

“Come on, we’re almost there.” He took off, running in the direction of the hospital. He jumped over debris and crouched under obstacles. 

Abby looked at Ellie and huffed. Going over that bridge, it was empowering knowing she beat it. But it pretty much took everything she had. Ellie walked beside her and watched Lev. Then ran in his direction causing Abby to sigh again.

Abby, Ellie, and Lev crouched in a building with a hole in it. “Ellie and I will go in, you stay here.”

“I’m coming with you.”

“They want to kill you, the worst we have to worry about is a backgammon rematch.” Abby told him.

A boat motored past them with two men in it. “Stay here.” Abby and Ellie jumped into the water. 

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> School, martial arts, and work are kicking my ass! But the chapter after this one is fun to write. I think you’ll feel my joy in it.


	22. Rat King

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bringing attention to the fact that the attack on the island is going to be in a week not a day. 
> 
> Yara is a tough SOB but my god! After getting her arm amputated she’s running around and even briefly fought Tommy!

Ellie was going to go through the gate but saw Aiden on the outskirts of the base. “I’m gonna talk to Aiden. I’ll find you inside.”

“You think he’s doing something?”

“I can ask him about the supplies. He knows how to keep his mouth shut.” She told Abby.

“Alright. Find me inside.” Abby said.

Ellie swam down the river and got out. She was careful not to make noise. She squeezed through a chain link fence and approached Aiden. “Hey.”

“Fuck shit! You’re a ghost.” He had his hand on his chest. “I didn’t hear you.”

“Sorry, are there still supplies here? I need these things.” She handed him the list.

“I don’t speak medical, sorry. Nora’s probably around but what did you do to piss Isaac off?” He asked her.

“What do you mean?”

“He’s got an APB out on you. His top dogs are mad. That means he’s mad. Everyone is looking for you. Might be offering a reward.” He warned her.

“You planning on collecting?”

“Hell no, I want to see how crazy this gets! But seriously, stay outta site. Oh, one other thing. I was present during one of Isaac’s interrogations.” He paused, awaiting a response. Even though no one knew the exact details, it was no secret Ellie had a run in with some nasty Scars.

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Apparently they know you’re a top priority.” 

“How?” Ellie was shot by Nakita. If anything they should think she was dead. 

“I don’t know. He just said they had to watch out for someone young with reddish hair that wields a bow.” He told her.

“That’s descriptive.”

“Well no other WLF members use bows. You’re pretty famous for that.” He grinned. “But really, ya need to leave or Isaac’ll get you.”

“I said I’d meet Abby inside.” She pointed in the direction of the building.

“Then in that case, good luck. But with your skill, you probably won’t need it.” Before she could walk off he raised his hand to stop her. “If you do get spotted, try not to kill anyone?”

She gave him a WTF look. “I’m not going to kill anybody.” She thought for a moment. “Surprised you didn’t ask why I was here.” She’d tell him a partial truth. 

“Nah, I’m not asking you anything. I mean you come out of nowhere by killing a forest full of Scars, then start winning us a war? Also I’ve seen how you take bullets and arrows and keep going. Not entirely sure you’re human but I’m not gonna question a good thing.” He chuckled.

Ellie waved at him before leaving. She crouched in tall grass sneaking by WLF members. Bear, the dog Alice played with was there and looking at her. She hoped he didn’t do anything. He laid down. 

She was glad she took time out of her days to play with him. She waited for the man to walk out of the building before slipping in. 

There were boxes stacked everywhere. What was going on? “Ellie?”

She spun around and pulled her knife out. It was Whitney. “Woh! Ellie what are you doing here?” 

“Looking for Abby.”

“One of Isaac’s men came by. Took her, she’s AWOL. So are you.”

“Where’s Abby?”

“Not sure, but Nora is coming back.” Whitney said. Ellie hid behind some boxes when a man came by. “Whitney, see Ellie around?”

“No! Umm why?”

“Abby’s in the elevator on the second story. Keep a lookout around there for her.” He said and walked off.

Whitney looked at Ellie. “Does anyone else know you’re here?”

“Aiden.”

“Mechanic Aiden? He’ll turn you in for fun.” Whitney spat.

“Soldier Aiden. He won’t say anything.” Ellie said.

“I’ll try to let you know if something happens. Good luck, and can I borrow the Curtis and Viper movies? While you’re AWOL.” She asked.

Ellie nodded. “I’m gonna want them back.”

Then took off to the second floor. The whole place was full of men moving supplies. Probably due to the attack happening on the island soon. 

As she walked down the hall there were more men. She looked around and saw some stacked boxes going up to a vent. She acted quickly, climbing and pulling the grate off.

She pushed her bag in front of her as she moved. Then she heard Nora. “All clear Abby.”

She looked through the slits in the vent to see Nora and Abby. 

“Have you seen Ellie? She came with me.” Abby said.

“No, but I’ll keep a lookout.” 

Ellie tapped on the vent. The two paused and looked around. Where was it coming from? Ellie unlatched the vent cover and they saw her.

“What are you doing up there?” Abby asked.

“Looking for you.”

Nora rubbed her face with both hands. She did not get paid enough to deal with this. “Ellie get down, before the ceiling gives out and Mel sedates you.”

Ellie dropped her bag first and then hopped down. “I was coming to get you out,” she looked at Nora. “But Nora found you.”

“Abby filled me in, all the supplies were loaded up but the lower floors still needed clearing. Maybe you can find something down there. But be careful. It was ground zero.” Nora warned.

Ellie and Abby made their way to the door. “So what’s Owens' plan after getting the arm off?”

Ellie’s eyes widened. Is that the story Abby went with? Well guess it’s better than saying two Scars are crashed at Owens place and one needs to get their arm taken off.

“Going back with Ellie.” 

Nora looked at Ellie. “Owen’s going with you?”

“Yeah.” Ellie nodded. 

Nora looked at Abby. “And you’re not going? Or are you?” 

“Umm, I haven’t been thinking of it.” Abby told her. Truth be told she wasn’t sure. After the Fireflies the WLF were her home. But leaving everything? 

Nora nodded. “May your survival be long.”

“May our deaths be swift.” Abby said.

The two entered. “So you planning on joining Owen?”

“I, yeah. But the others. They, I haven’t talked with them about it.” She admitted. “You’d let them come, if they wanted?”

“Yes. But I thought they wanted to stay…” Ellie trailed off. None of them ever brought up wanting to leave. Not to her at least and she wasn’t going to ask them to leave to join her. Especially when they were fighting a war, but if they were doing it involuntarily. 

“Owen’s not going back. Mel, Manny, and I are all AWOL, and Isaac put a bounty on you. The only one not completely in the know is Nora, just can’t explain it to her right now.” Abby explained.

“So you told her Owen has compartments syndrome?” 

“Yes.”

They walked though the area until they came across a quarantine area. Ellie and Abby pulled their masks out. Been a long time since Ellie wore one of these.

Abby opened a case to find nothing. “Nada, gotta be something around here.” 

Ellie searched the place looking for things as well. Grabbing anything to help her along the way. But not finding anything on the list.

“Abby, surgery.” Ellie told her as she squeezed through. Abby followed. 

The sounds of infected echoing made for an ominous scene. The fact that they were stalkers was less than grand. 

Eventually Abby got to a shut door and tried to pry it open. “Shit, gotta find where the cables go.”

Ellie followed Abby to the end of the cables. Then started the generators. Something caught Ellie’s eye.

“Look at this,” she held up a canister. “For a flamethrower. Might be one around.”

Abby nodded and pointed at a box with a lock on it. Abby looked at it. “Got a key on you?”

Ellie looked at it. “Should be small enough to break.” Ellie put a piece of rebar through the loop and forced all her weight down. The thing fell to the ground with a cling.

Ellie flipped the box lid open. Abby gravitated towards it. “Holy shit this is awesome.” She paused and turned to Ellie. She was the one to realize a flamethrower might be around and the one to open it. It was only fair. She handed it to Ellie.

Ellie waved it away. A breath of happiness escaped as she saw how happy Abby was. A new toy. “Happy birthday.”

“My birthday isn’t for 5 months.”

“Just take it.” 

Abby happily slung ya over her shoulder as they continued. “Come on, let’s get to the locked door.” Abby told her.

The doors didn’t open but the locking mechanism was disengaged so at least Abby could pry them open. She held them as Ellie slipped through. Then she entered herself. 

The amount of infected was unbelievable. Well technically it was ground zero but still. 

Abby made a few shivs as Ellie was already taking care of them with her switchblade. Abby walked past a wall of fungus and an infected jumped out. Abby shoved it back as Ellie grabbed it and tabbed it in the throat.

“Thanks.”

“No problem. There’s got to be stuff here.” Ellie pushed forwards. 

The place was full of stuff for them, but not for Yara. There was enough explosive supplies to make a fucking atom bomb at this point but not a single thing for medical.

As they descended deeper into the madness it seemed to be getting worse. The whole walls were being covered. “What the fuck did this?”

Doors were dented and primed open. They were in a parking lot. “Look, an ambulance.” Ellie pointed out as they waded through the shin high water.

“Good eye.” Abby complimented and yanked the door open. A stretcher came out scaring them both slightly. There were draws. Abby found it. She fucking found it!

Doing all this reminded Ellie of being in the crashed helicopter. She was so scared of being alone. She had to save Joel. The fuck was she supposed to do? Let him die? Even being here gave her a sense of dread and anxiety.

“You hear that?” Abby asked.

Deep clicking could be heard all around. Abby raised a light to see an abomination, an amalgam of infected climbing in. 

Ellie went in the opposite direction, smashing through the window and getting out. Abby lunges through the opening next. The monster broke the damn door off the vehicle. Sending it hurdling past Ellie.

“Run!” Ellie grabbed Abby and pulled her upright. Either out of strength or adrenaline Ellie hauled Abby up! “Doors!”

Abby bolted through the gap as Ellie followed. The second set didn’t open and Abby started prying. Ellie lit the fuse on her stun bomb and threw it at it. The thing just kept coming! 

Abby got it open and the two ran down a hallway and to another door. “Won’t open!” Abby yelled, yanking on the doors making small progress.

“Get it open!” Ellie pumped the shot gun and fired. It slowed it down a fraction maybe. But it wasn’t planning on stopping anytime soon. 

Abby got the door open and Ellie followed. “Right!” Abby yelled going to the right. “Though here!” She squeezed through a gap in the wall. 

Ellie started but the thing grabbed her. “Gah! FUCK!” Abby turned around to see Ellie grabbed. She turned back and grabbed Ellie’s right shoulder with her right hand and had a gun out in the left. She unloaded a magazine into it as she pulled Ellie to safety.

The structure of the building collapsed sending it to flee. They took off trying to get out only for it to break through a wall. 

It grabbed Abby by the neck and head. “Nonono!”

“Gah! Hah! Rah!” 

Ellie had run straight to the thing slashing away. Slicing the hand off that held Abby with a machete. Then slashing upwards. Finally stabbing it in one of its many faces. “Run!”

Abby and Ellie turned and ran to another hall. Ellie saw a door ahead and prepared for it to go wrong. How right she was as it didn’t even open enough for Abby to pry it open.

Abby turned and pointed to another direction. Ellie pumped the shotgun and shot at it but it did absolutely nothing. A thick arm grabbed Ellie’s thoat. Lifting her a few feet off the ground. She tried to kick but another grabbed her leg as a third grabbed her shoulder. So many fucking arms! It twisted her neck in a way not meant to be twisted.

“Drop her!” Abby swung the axe at the creature until it broke. Ellie fell to the ground just as it gave out and they all fell to the ground below.

“Shit!”

“Fuck!”

Ellie rolled off her front and got up in record time. Abby jumped up as well. No way they could do this lying down. 

Abby pulled out her flamethrower and lit the fucker up like the Fourth of July. The screeching was horrible. It was an ear piercing noise. Like nails on a chalk board bad.

Ellie shot at it with her shotgun until the dreaded click was heard and she swapped out for her pistol. With her other hand she’d throw a bomb at it. 

“I’m out!” Abby yelled, swapping to her rifle. The flamethrower was the thing holding it at bay. Ellie threw a molotov as Abby swapped guns. 

Abby was going around it, shooting at it as Ellie reloaded. Then Ellie would distract the beast as Abby reloaded. “Why won’t you die?!” Abby yelled.

The amalgamation paused. Was it going to keel over? A clicker detached and crawled at them at a remarkable speed. “I had to say something.” Abby mumbled to herself.

Elle ran forwards and put a foot on the crawling infected and shot it twice in the head. The larger infected charged Ellie. Abby grabbed her and yanked her out of the way. 

They turned and started shooting at it again. “It won’t fucking die!” Abby shouted.

“Keep shooting!” Ellie encouraged as she reloaded her pistol. This was it. All she had left was a hunting rifle for ammunition. Her arrows were damaged in the multiple scuffles. She’d have to make more when she was safe.

“Another!” Abby put down the infected detaching itself from the main body. 

“Frag out!” Ellie shouted.

Abby dove being over as Ellie threw the bomb. It wasn’t used as much but Ellie could craft shrapnel bombs. Frags were just easier to shout.

The bomb went off sending sharp metal everywhere. The creature let out deep noises of anger. Ellie pulled out a molotov and threw it at the unmissable target before her. 

Abby threw a pipe bomb at it. The fire from the molotov stunned it long enough for the pipebomb to go off. The thing took a step back. Then charged at them with the anger of a hundred infected. Probably not that far off.

“Ellie!” Abby ripped open Ellie’s front pocket and threw shells into it. While Abby Was so close Ellie handed her a stun bomb and frag bomb.

Ellie reloaded her shotgun. She had six shots left and she wasn’t going to waste them! The rounds were incendiary rounds. It knocked the thing back. Ellie marched forwards as the thing stumbled back. When she ran out Abby was there throwing the stun bomb at it. Then calling out the frag before throwing it.

Ellie took cover as it went off. The growl let both know it was still alive. Ellie did not, repeat, did not want to fight it with a fucking machete. 

A scream was heard and Ellie was up in an instant. Charging the thing with her machete. Abby was being held by the thing. Ellie jumped onto a car. Then jumped off it, landing the machete in one of its ugly faces. From there she aimed at the creature's various heads until it dropped Abby.

The thing swung a tree trunk of an arm at Ellie. Knocking her away and falling. It exposed its innards to Abby, who could see just how vulnerable it was. “Ellie! Frag!”

Ellie grabbed her last one and threw it to Abby. Abby shoved it into the open wound Ellie inflicted on it just moments before. “Eat this motherfucker!” She ignited the fuse and ran like hell.

The explosion wasn’t like the others. It was deeper and red chunks rained down. The red mist hung in the air. 

Ellie staggered to her feet. “Great job. You killed the fucker.”

“You saved me. Multiple times from that thing.” Abby breathed. “We’d of been dead without your shit.”

“Thanks.” Ellie huffed and stood straight up. Stretching her back. “Flamethrower work?”

“Like a damn dream. Thanks Ellie.”

“No, no big deal. You liked it. Let’s get outta here.” 

Ellie and Abby huffed and puffed as they made their way out. They were climbing through an area clearly not meant for humans when an infected jumped on Abby. “Get off her!”Ellie growled jumping on the thing, and Abby to kill it.

The weight of the three of them broke the supports and they were falling down. Now they were fighting some hybrid of a bloated and a stalker. It released an acidic airborne gas, threw it as well but had the speed of a stalker. 

They had used up most of their ammunition on the Ellie was using a hunting rifle of all things. There was a reason she didn’t use it indoors. Because it was fucking stupid!

Abby was using her crossbow. Not the wisest choice considering if she missed the thing would be on her. Thankfully Ellie was watching her back.

The infected grabbed Abby and was about to tear into her jugular when Ellie came barreling through, tackling it to the ground. Ellie grabbed a medium sized chunk of debris and bashed its skull in. The squealing died out over the hits.

Ellie held it down with her weight as she pounded the fucker into paste. Till it was one with the ground below it, her biceps, triceps, shoulder muscles, abdominal muscles, forearms. Everything in Ellie’s body gave it a hundred and ten percent to neutralize this threat. She was not going to let an injured person die and she sure a shit wasn’t going to let Abby die. Maybe it was being in a hospital, trying to bring supplies back. Something brought it back. Back to that place, back to that time.

Ellie felt like that fourteen year old girl in the mall again. Fighting not only for her life, but for Joel’s as well. Killing everyone and thing that moved before it could kill her. Kill or be killed. 

“Ellie! Ellie!” Abby pulled her away. “It’s dead.”

Ellie stared at Abby for a moment before looking at it. It was dead. The head was gone and only a bloodied stump of a neck remained. Ellie was covered in its rotting chunks and bad blood.

She threw the debris to the side and got up. Abby led the way. “No one’s gonna believe this shit.”

“Yeah,” Ellie said out of breath. “Hey, I feel fresh air.” 

Abby perked up. There was fresh air.

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is in celebration of me getting another strip on my belt. If anyone cares about my personal life.
> 
> “Shut up and update!”
> 
> I hear ya.


	23. You’re Joking. Right?

Abby jumped down only to tackled by Lev. She turned to kill him but saw who it was. Ellie climbed down and crouched next to them. 

“What did you two do? You ‘friends’are about ready to drag you to Isaac by the leg.” Lev pointed to Ellie. “They said their after the Saltlake crew.”

“I know. Why are you here? I thought I told you to stay put.” 

“Your buddies are all over. Looking for you two.” Lev repeated.

“Let’s focus on getting out and back to your sister.” Abby said. She looked around to see a boat tied to a pole. “There, come on.”

Ellie rather of drive the boat the sit with her back to the wind. Next to Lev. She didn’t hate the kid. He was actually really nice, and fiercely loyal to his sister. Good traits to have, even in a world so unkind. Just, He and his sister reminded her of unpleasant thoughts. Mainly her talking, or trying to.

Abby leaned towards Lev. “We got the supplies. Your sister is going to be fine.” She put a hand on Lev’s arm. Then continued driving the boat.

Now Ellie remembered why she was in the cold rain after fighting an abomination only hell could dream up. Lev’s sister needed to lose her arm. Again, she didn’t hate her but it was hard to look past everything.

She made a fist with her right hand. It hurt. Not because of the torch wound sustained a few months ago but something else. 

Her left hand was moved to show a bite mark on the outside edge of her right hand. It wasn’t deep, but the teeth marks were unmissable. It was a bite. 

Ellie covered her hand with the other and looked up. Abby was looking at her. “Abby I-“

“You’re bleeding. Here I can help.” Abby said.

“You’re driving “

“It’s fine, Lev can drive. It’s just keeping the boat straight.” She was already giving Lev control of the boat. Poor kid never touched a boat, Nevermind steer one.

“I’m fine!” Ellie snapped.

Abby stopped and sat back down. “Alright.” Abby was kinda hurt. She was the one who helped Ellie whenever she was injured. Changed all her bandages and was there for her. Why was this such a big deal? 

She looked at Lev for a fraction of a second. Maybe she didn’t want to be seen weak in front of one of them? Made sense to her.

“Abby, I didn’t mean to snap.”

“No, no. I understand.”

“You do?”

“Yes.” Abby said confidently. 

Ellie nodded and kept her hand covered. Whatever Abby was thinking was not the situation they had. But if she could get back and bandage her hand in peace no one would know. 

Back at the aquarium Abby and Lev went to drop off the supplies to Mel. Ellie went to a place in the aquarium she thought no one would go to patch her hand up.

“Fucking shit.” Ellie whispered to herself. She pulled out the bandages and disinfectant. Of course it happens right on her hand. A place visible to all. 

She threw the bloodied gauze to the side and went to wrap her hand up. Damn disinfect hurt more than the actual bite.

“El! El!” She turned to see Manny. “Good, listen Abby wants you…. what’s that?”

She turned her body away. “Nothing, I’ll be down in a minute.” She tried grabbing medical tape to cover it but Manny was over too fast.

He was in her personal space trying to look at her hand. “Come on, what is that?”

“Nothing.”

That was bullshit. Ellie never hid her wounds when she was caught red handed with them. She’d admit it and move on. “Ellie, come on. Just my imagination but I swore it looked like a bite mark. Put my mind at ease. Eh?”

“Just a cut, I’ll be fine.”

“Good, Glad! But can I see it?” Manny asked again. 

“Why do you want to see it so badly?” Ellie asked him.

“Because I mentioned a bite and you haven’t denied it.” Manny rubbed his face. “On our friendship, tell me it isn’t a bite.”

“Manny, really? I thought you were above this.” Ellie scoffed.

“Swear it Ellie, and I’ll never call our trust into question ever again.” Manny said. “But I need to know. At the very least the safety of the others.”

Ellie looked at him. Fuck why did he have to look so sad?! Ellie wasn’t sure if he was pleading to her that it was just an act, or pleading to something else that it wouldn’t be true.

Ellie took a sharp inhale in and raised her hand. 

“Holy shit! Ellie I’m so sorry. I- Fuck!” Manny cursed and turned around. 

“Manny, it’s not that bad. I’m-“

“What Ellie? You’re bit!” He took a breath. “How, you. You were gonna keep it from us? From Abby? Gah!” 

He didn’t know how to respond. “Ellie you can’t just hide this!”

“I’ll be fine.” Ellie whispered. Did she really have to explain it to him?

“No you won’t! It’s not like all those other times!” He shouted. “A bite is death! It’s inevitable.” 

“I’m immune.” 

Saying it allowed left this disconnect with being there and not. It was years ago she discovered it. After Riley and her were bitten. Riley was the first to die, and she was still waiting for her turn. 

“You’re immune.” Manny repeated.

Ellie nodded. 

“That’s bullshit. The only person that was immune was the girl five years ago…” He looked at her.

“Little girl escorted by a man across the country. Marlene was the leader of the Fireflies. She’s a black woman, was tough as nails.” Ellie told him.

Manny knew Ellie wouldn’t have known about Marlene. They never liked talking about it. “You’re her? And the man Joel? He was the one?”

Ellie nodded. “Yeah.”

Manny took a seat. “Why, why didn’t you say anything?”

“Fucked up.” Ellie whispered to no one in particular.

“You know the others have to know. You can’t just keep it a secret! I’m surprised you didn’t slip up before.” Many told her.

“I was bitten the same day Abby found me. But the Sca-Serephite threw a molotov at us and burned me here.” Ellie gestured to her shoulder. Ellie really had a bad history with fire.

“Never thought getting a molotov thrown at you would be good.” Manny stared at the floor. Looking at Ellie was unreal but not acknowledging her was also unreal. 

“No way I would have hid it from Abby.” Ellie smiled when she said the name. Abby was there for her, yes they all were but Abby especially. She learned how to change bandages and treat her wounds so she wouldn’t be stuck with Mel and Nora. No offense, great people. 

“Yeah, I’m sure Abby’s seen everything.” He nudged her, giving her a suggestive look. Ok Manny was back. 

“Fuck off Manny.”

“Ha! You don’t deny it!” He got serious again. “So how are you going to tell them?”

“Go down and tell them?” She offered. It was the most straightforward way. 

“Just go down and tell em?”

“After the surgery. I don’t need to tell them more then once.” Why did she want to live with others knowing? She bucked against Joel all the time about it. Now she had the chance without his input and she was struggling. Kinda like she was betraying his trust.

“You’re immune.” Manny once again stated.

“Yes.”

He rubbed his face. “You’re sure?”

“I’ve been bitten twice already, this is my third time and inhaled enough spores to kill a few hundred people. I’m sure.” She told him.

“Ok,” he adjusted his seat. “Just a shock is all.”

“You’re taking this better then I imagined.” 

“You think I’d flip tables and yell?” Manny asked.

“Something like that.”

“No, I wouldn’t.” He sighed. “You’ve done more for us then I think any of us realize. We all have secrets, but that doesn’t mean we can’t trust each other. Sí?” 

Ellie smiled. “Yeah. Thanks.”

“So you’re gonna tell them, right?”

“Yes.”

“Good, because if you don’t, I will. This is a serious matter. Besides I don’t think it’s been easy living like that. Hiding it.” He said.

Later that day Ellie sat on the ground with Alice leaning against her, occasionally licking her. Lev was staring at her, or the dog? Both?

Truth be told Ellie didn’t care, she had bigger things to worry about. Like telling everyone she was the immune person that caused the Fireflies near extinction. But Manny was cool about it. Why not everyone else? 

“Alice, come here.” Abby called.

Alice took a few steps to Abby. “Want to pet her?”

“No thanks.” Lev stiffened when Alice got near him.

“It’s ok, she won’t bite.” Abby held her hand out for Lev to take. Then gently put his hand on Alice’s head.

After a few nervous pets he got comfortable was figuratively all over her. This the first time he saw a dog that wasn’t attacking him or his family members. He was the first to pet a WLF dog. It excited him 

Ellie let a small grin show. Then Alice flopped onto her back. Lev looked at Abby. “What’s she doing?”

Ellie nelt beside the good girl and rubbed her stomach. Alice made a goofy face and wagged her tail as she tilted her head to look at Ellie. Her tongue hanging out as she panted.

Mel came out. “You can see her.”

Lev ran in. Followed by Abby and lastly Ellie. Ellie watched as they comforted each other. She couldn’t watch. It was such a conflicting feeling. 

Fuck! She knew that this wasn’t Nakita. She knew Jacob was dead and John probably was with Nakita. Why the hell was this so hard for her?! Lev and Yara were their own people!

She walked out and pulled Owen aside. “You ok?” He asked her.

“Yeah, how's the food rations?” She asked him.

Owen furrowed his brow. He wasn’t expecting that question. But now that he thought about it, it wasn’t something he really worried about. It was usually only him, or one other. Now it was a group. “Could be better.”

“Right, I’ll head out.” 

“Hey, Ellie that’s not what I meant.” He reached out for her. But she shifted out of reach.

“I need some fresh air.” Too much on her mind. She needed to just do something to take her mind somewhere else. Hunting was it. They needed food and she needed a distraction. 

“You’re just leaving? Tell the others.” He pointed to the room the others were in. 

“You tell them. I need to go before it gets too late.” She was pushing past Owen and grabbing her gear. 

A quick trip to clear her mind and get food. It was a win, win situation. She’d feel in control once more.

Owen watched her. He wasn’t going to stop her but he was concerned. She needs to talk to someone but who? No one knew a damn thing about the mind. Especially what fucked up shit happened to her. 

He turned and walked into the room. The others were talking of inviting the two Serephites with them. Already agreeing to steal multiple trucks if they needed too. 

“Hey.”

Abby turned to him. “Owen, you’re here good. We were talking. When the attack happens Manny, Mel, you, and I will sneak in and steal some trucks. Pack ammunition, supplies, they left, everything we can and get out.”

“Ellie left.” Owen announced.

Abby’s face fell. “What do you mean she left?!”

“She said she was going hunting and walked out. I tried to stop her but-“ 

“But?! Owen you know what happened last time! Fuck, I’m going after her.” Abby was ready to go when Manny let out a snarl.

“What’s your problem?” Owen asked.

“Can’t believe she did that.” He said.

“Did what?” Mel asked.

“After the conversation we had. She just leaves.” Manny sighed. “I told her if she didn’t do it I would.”

“Do what?” Abby asked. Something happened and no one knew.

“She is the immune girl from the hospital.” Manny told them. His voice unwavering but strained. 

Everyone’s eyes widened. Except for the two Seraphites who had no clue what was going on. 

Abby put her hands up. “No joke? Ellie’s that girl?”

“Yeah, I saw a bite on her hand. I confronted her about it and she told me.” Manny recalled.

Owen shook his head. “That’s bullshit. For all you know she couldn’t just want to be alone when it happens, and I let her go.”

Mel sighed. “Real possibility it was her.”

“What makes you say that?” Owen turned to her.

“Jerry talked to me, years ago about what happened. Said it was an auburn haired girl with a scar on her eyebrow. Had freckles on her face.” Mel told everyone. “Also where the bite was she has a tattoo. Had a tattoo.

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Abby asked.

“I didn’t want to jump to conclusions. Besides doctor patient confidentiality? If it was her it wasn’t for me to say, and if it wasn’t we’d be creating a lot of drama for one person.” She told them. She did take her job seriously. 

Manny hummed. “She said she breathed spores regularly.”

Lev spoke up. “If she can do that. Is she a demon?”

“Hey! Ellie is not a demon!” Abby immediately faced Lev. Ellie was an angel! Well maybe not an angel. Yeah no. But she was no demon. Then she remembered demon meant infected. Not Satan demon. But still no, Ellie wasn’t a demon. 

“Come on, maybe we can find her.” Owen said.

Abby nodded. “I’m not letting what happened, happen again.” 

Everyone seemed to recoil at the statement. It confused Lev and Yara. Clearly something happened to Ellie that they were not telling them.

“What happened?” Yara asked.

“Nothing, just rest.” Abby told her. 

Manny sighed. “Maybe I should’ve been a bit patient with her.”

“Doesn’t matter because I’m going after her.” Abby said.

“Who’s staying? I can’t leave Yara. We can’t just leave this place unguarded. Now with the WLF looking for us.” Mel said.

Abby looked at everyone. “Umm, Lev stay with your sister, Owen can stay as extra security. Me and Manny will go out.”

She grabbed her shit and ran out the door. Poor Manny couldn’t keep up. Fuck Abby and her cardio routine! 

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter and I think the next were hard to write so it might be hard to read. Not anything gory or triggering. Just dragging.


	24. What The Fuck

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting a different outcome.

Owen sat and looked out the window. Lev was looking out beside him. “Ellie ran off?”

“I don’t know. Things have gotten so fucked recently.” Owen sighed. Everyone just wanted a peaceful life! Was that so hard to ask for? 

“Abby seemed upset.”

“Course!” He turned to Lev. “Those two are practically joined at the hip. Need a pry bar to separate them.”

Lev looked at his hip and touched. How were they joined at the hip? They seemed pretty individual if anyone asked him. “How does that work? What’s a pry bar?”

“Pry bar is a tool used for separating things. I just meant they’re close. Not actually joined at the hip.” Owen told him. “Except when they got into that argument and,” he looked at Lev. “Umm Nevermind.” 

“The happening happened?” He referred to the conversation from before.

“Yeah.” Owen whispered out. No secret Abby harbored a lot of guilt after arguing with Ellie. Owen especially knew, being the one she truely confided in.

Owen wished he knew what to say to make her feel better. Not like anyone could see the future. No one knew that, that would happen.

“Can I ask what the ‘happening’ was?” 

“You can ask, but it’s not my place to say. How’s your sister?” Owen changed the subject. He didn’t want to start telling Ellie’s business for her.

———

Ellie kept low to the ground as she moved. There had to be wildlife somewhere out here. Maybe a few squirrels, something for her to hunt and take her mind off everything. Maybe if she got extremely lucky a boar or buck!

Ellie was following tracks she found to a building. It reminded her of the winter. When she tracked the deer and it ran into the abandoned town. What town wasn’t abandoned at this point?

She vaulted over a car and walked in between the buildings. No way of tracking the thing on asphalt. But she guessed it went that way considering it was the most open.

Ellie heard a noise behind her. She turned and rounded the corner to investigate only to have a wooden plank connect with her face, knocking her out. 

Ellie slowly woke with her hands and feet bound together. She pulled on the ropes but they didn’t budge. “So good for you to join me.” She looked up and saw someone she could go her whole life without seeing. John. “The fuck?”

She yanked on the ropes again. “Why are you doing that? You did it once, it didn’t tear. You did it again and it didn’t tear. Fucking insanity.”

He was holding her switchblade. He felt the edge before throwing it to the side, where all her other stuff was. Across the room, what looked to be a house. 

“Whatever you’re gonna do, just do it.” Ellie told him. There was no way she’d be able to talk him out of it. There was also no Nakita around to tell him to stop if he was too close to killing her.

“Nakita killed you. She shot you in the chest. _Sshhk chk_ _bang.”_ He said pointing to her chest. “But I’ll ensure you die. You see, I’ll kill you.” He pushed off the ground and walked a pace or two away.

She hated to want Nakita around but she was the one to keep her alive, oddly enough. Where was she? Nakita was clearly the brains of everything and they were the muscle. Not that she needed it.

As she looked around she noticed something else. No one else was here. Was he in charge of her? Did others know she was here or was he alone?

He grabbed her by the collar and yanked her to him. “I should skin you alive for what you did to my brother! But I’m needed in a few hours, so I decided on something else.”

He hauled her to a hole in the floor. When she looked down she was surprised that she was so relieved. It was spores. Less relieving thing was the height of the fall. If she landed correctly she wouldn’t break anything or get knocked out.

“This time, you will die. But not quickly.” He threw her to the ground next to the hole. “Even if you survive the fall, you won’t survive the spores. No one can survive. Only demons can survive the spores.”

He chuckled. “You’re not a demon. Are you? Well you might be. But that’s western adaptation of one.”

He walked a few feet away, then turned to her. “Fuck you!” He shouted at her.

He kicked her in the ribs and turned away from her, then looked back. He turned his body to her. He flipped a table. 

“Fuck! You!” He punches her twice. He growled and looked at his watch. Another old world item. It seemed Nakita and him were swimming in old world.

“No good dirty brother killer!” He grabbed her and threw her into the hole. Ellie landed and connected with the ground, hard.

Ellie fumbled around in the dark and found a flashlight. She looked up to see John already gone. He must have thought she was dead anyway. That would have been true if it were anyone else. God she hurt everywhere.

Ellie looked around for something to cut the ropes. Her head throbbed like a motherfucker and she knew her back would be killing her. On the bright side a sharp piece of metal should cut the ropes. 

She put the flashlight down and rubbed her wrists against it. It was going at a snail's pace. The sharp metal turned out to be not so sharp.

Once her hands were free she worked on getting her legs free. From there Ellie used her flashlight to look around. The whole place was a mess with broken glass all over the floor. Why didn’t she just use that?

Must have hit her head pretty hard to not see it. But John did knock her out. She needed to get out, get her stuff, and run her switchblade into John’s throat. That was if he was around. 

Ellie couldn’t lose sight over the fact that Jackson was within her grasp. She just needed to survive a few more days and the trek back. Then she’d be back with Dina and Joel. She’d talk with Jesse, go on patrols with Tommy and spend time with Maria. Never again which she bitch about farm duty, at least not immediately.

She pushed on the door and it opened enough for her to squeeze through. Almost didn’t fit. She was thankful that she wasn’t any bigger or she’d have to find another way around.

She followed the only path she could and headed down the hall. The sounds of a clicker echoed. 

Ellie looked around for a weapon. Why did she run off? Because she wanted to avoid the topic Nakita and her nephew. Instead she ran into him. She was just lucky he was on a time crunch or she wouldn’t be alive. She fucking knew it.

A rusting pipe should do it. Could probably get a few hits off with it. She felt the weight and headed in the direction of the clicking.

The noise was louder and she saw it hunched over, clicking away. She snuck up on it and brought the pipe up and swung down hard. The thing fell and twitched. Then tried crawling to her, but she was faster and brought the pipe down on it two more times before it died.

Her pipe broke in the fight but it did its job. She continued forward. She found a note on a table. Been a long while since she saw one.

_ To anyone finding this my wife is 33, my son is 16, and I am 35. Death comes for all. No matter how prepared. _

“Poor bastard.” Losing a family in this train wreck of a world must have been hell. She was lucky in an odd way to not have known her parents. Don’t know what you’re missing. She was missing Joel. 

She put the note down and went in the next room to find a very large safe. A thought crossed her mind. 33, 16, 35. To be precise on what she was thinking.

She tried the combination and it fucking worked! Maybe someone was looking after her. John was pressed for time, only one clicker and now a safe? She felt like a kid on Christmas, getting the thing they wanted. Well maybe her birthday. Not everyone celebrated Christmas.

She picked up a gun. This, this couldn’t be real. Right? An AA-12. This had to be a dream. An automatic shotgun. It was official, she was dead and this was some form of afterlife being kind. There was a stack of drum magazines on the bottom of the safe. A med kit was there, but she was more focused on the shotgun.

Abby got the flamethrower. This was gonna be hers! She loaded the gun and looked around for something to carry the other magazines with. All she had on her was a flashlight she was currently holding.

A bag should do it. She put the ammunition in. Also the explosive materials in there along with other supplies. 

Something caught Ellie’s eye. A small black box on the opposite bottom corner. She reached for it and opened it. A golden ring with a blue diamond in it. She did not think she was in a ritzy part of town but hell. It was small enough to put in her pocket. She flipped the box over to see a small 8. Round Dina’s size. 

Besides she’d be heading back to Jackson anyway. Better bring an apology for dropping off the face of the earth. She smiled. Now all she needed was one for Joel, Tommy, Maria, and Jesse. Not a ring though. 

Maybe she could find a Harley Davidson in pristine condition sitting in someone’s garage. All ready to be given to Joel. Maybe even have a bow on it. If she remembered correctly his birthday was coming up. September 25th. Right before outbreak day on September 26th.

Ellie had to pull herself from her thoughts and press on. Stood with the bag on her shoulder. Ammo was heavy. No wonder soldiers needed so much training and exercise. She never had this much ammunition so she never felt it.

She had to admit she felt somewhat excited. She had a fucking automatic shotgun and a beautiful ring with a blue diamond in her pocket. Said ring was just waiting for it’s permanent owner. 

Ellie had crept back into the hall and saw some stairs ahead. She climbed them, ready to start shooting her way out of need be. After all, she did have this new gun.

Ellie was going to open the door when she heard voices. She cracked it instead and listened in 

“Let’s just get the masks on and check for the body. Confirm she’s dead and move on.” A deep voice said.

“Right. Stairs this way…. Why do we have to make sure she’s dead. Can’t John do it himself?” The other one wasn’t as deep 

“Because he’s busy. Come on I want to get my job done so I can be a witness.” 

Deep voice man hummed loudly. “Fine, Hillcrest. Right?”

“You listened to me. I’m glad I’m not talking to a brick wall.” 

Ellie could hear the creaking of the wood. They were coming this way. She took two steps back before ramming the door open. Pulling the trigger down and shooting right to left with it. 

Apparently there were a shit ton more than two! A few ran out whilst the rest dropped like flies. Her adrenaline rush was in full effect. She could see a shell flying through the air as she unloaded the magazine. It looked like it was in slow motion. She’d be lying if the adrenaline rush wasn’t amazing. Terrifying facing enemies though.

Eventually the gun ran dry but by then they were all dead. The gun was empty and bodies lay motionless at her feet. She took a deep breath scanning the area. 

She looked back to see spores pouring through the doorway she came out of, without a mask. And they were probably reporting to John as she stood there. 

The amazing adrenaline rush turned into a panic of realization. Not just because they’d see she was immune but because it reminded her that she left the others on a very awkward note. She was so focused on avoiding one problem she just created another for herself.

She had to haul ass if she wanted to make it back before nightfall. She looked around and found her stuff on the ground next to the hole she was thrown into before.

She closed the switchblade and made her way to the exit. The sun was setting, best head….

A deer hopped in front of her and ate some grass growing from in between the cracks in the asphalt. This must be the way the universe got a laugh. 

Ellie shifted to look at the deer and the shifting of her gear made the deer run into the forest. “Fuck.”

Ellie quickly took her bags off and dropped them on the ground. She grabbed a tarp and rags and threw it over her stuff. A few stones to stop the tarp from blowing away. 

She had her bow and an arrow notched as she ran after it. She couldn’t focus on what had recently happened. She needed the deer. 

The brush was thick and hard to maneuver. She stepped over a log and followed the fresh prints. Where was that damned deer?

A snapping twig was heard behind her. Then all was silent. “Who's there?!”

She pulled the bow back and scanned the area. she knew it was an animal because an animal would run when she spoke. She also knew it wasn’t an infected because an infected would charge at the noise she just made.

Out came a tall, skinny woman with her hands raised. One all too recognizable. With mismatched eyes. “You.”

“I need your help.”


	25. The Lines We Cross(For People We Love)

Ellie was staring at a woman she wanted dead but for some reason she didn’t release the arrow. Maybe fear? But what is she afraid of? That Nakita wouldn’t die? Blasphemy of course! A bullet to the skull would kill anything. In this case an arrow but the logic still applied.

“Please, hear me out.”

“Why the fuck should I?!” God, she couldn’t hold the string back. Her fingers were already tired, her whole forearm was. She quickly put the bow and arrow away and grabbed her sidearm. She aimed it at Nakita.

“See you’re recovering nicely.”

Ellie raised the gun higher and pulled the hammer back.

“Woh, ok. Ok. I need, I need your skills. I need a building blown up in Hillcrest. 11am tomorrow. I-

“Stop.” Ellie told her. Nakita stopped. The older woman even had her head down and she was slightly slouched. But still tall as a skyscraper. 

“Why the fuck would I help you?” 

Nakita gulped. “Whatever you want you can have all I ask is you set the explosives. I have them.” 

“I want you to leave me the fuck alone! You and your nephew and anyone else.” Ellie growled. First John then Nakita, they had an entire island and Seattle was huge yet they always ran into each other.

“Done. Scars under my command will not engage in combat with you unless fired upon.” Nakita explained.

“How do I know you’ll keep your word?”

“Because I do.”

“Like you did back in the courthouse!” She took a few steps closer. “I told you everything yet now I can only hold a bowstring back for a fraction of the time.” She moved her right arm.

“I did what I thought was right!” Nakita yelled back.

“Right?! How do you justify any of what you did?” Ellie countered. 

“All right I admit I do enjoy my work. But don’t tell me you wouldn’t do it if our positions were switched!” Nakita leaned forward, her fingers curled but didn’t make a fist. She was now standing straight up. “I have family forced to fight and I need to know where you or others would be so I know to put them where you’re fucking not!” She pointed at Ellie. “Anyone else going against you is a death sentence.”

Ellie didn’t say anything. She took a step back, she didn’t like being so close to her. She was an expert in hand to hand and could probably disarm her and beat her with her own gun. All before she realized she didn’t have the gun anymore.

Ellie had to admit she’d done nothing but fight ever since getting to this place. The bodies piling up weren't small either. This war zone after all and they were at war. “Why offer me a chance to join you if I’m such a menace?”

“Because you’re a menace. We had the Wolves on the run. Then you showed up and the tables turned. It forced a draft in the Seraphite community. Along with other things. Now will you listen to the deal I have planned out? Please.” She asked again.

“What makes you think I won’t just kill you.”

“Because I have Seraphites watching the aquarium. If I don’t tell them to retreat by,” she looked at her watch. “8:30 tonight they will attack.” Nakita tilted her head and raised an eyebrow. Daring Ellie to do something.

“You’re bluffing.” 

“Kill me and see if it’s true, I really do want to do it the peaceful way. That’s why I tried negotiating. But clearly the stick works better than the carrot.” Nakita said.

Ellie slowly lowered the gun but was ready to shoot Nakita if she tried attacking. Nakita lowered her hands. “Glad you could hear me out.”

“You have my friends hostage.” Ellie was stiff as a statue. This was not something she wanted.

“I needed something to ensure you would hear me out.” Nakita told her. 

“So the offer was what? Void from the start?” Ellie asked.

Nakita started walking away. “No, it’s real. I have a setup in the city,” She turned to Ellie. “You coming.”

Ellie reluctantly followed. This was mad! But her friends. She was not going to kill this woman and risk her friends' lives. She already did that once, she was not going to do it again. 

Her chest ached, not because of any medical reason. Just dealing with the devil tends to make people tense. That woman was definitely more intelligent than the other Seraphites. 

As they walked down the street she saw where her stuff was stashed under the tarp. She tried not to draw attention to it and follow Nakita.

Luckily Nakita wasn’t watching her. Soon they came to a bookstore and Nakita held the door open. Ellie followed her. God she hoped the others were ok. Running off was the worst thing she’d done. Now they were hostages and they didn’t even know it!

“Back room.” Nakita gestured.

Ellie scowled. Just like before except now it was even worse. Now she was a prisoner restrained without chains and working without a whip.

Ellie walked through and saw on the table multiple bundles of explosives. They were incendiary. She turned to Nakida. “What the fuck am I doing with those?”

“What I told you before.”

“If you want me to bring a building down with those, then you’ll have to wait for it to burn down. They’re incendiary.” Ellie explained through gritted teeth.

Nakita’s eyebrows furrowed and she sighed. “They will still kill though?”

“All explosives can kill.”

“Ok, then it’s still ok.” Nakita breathed.

“Woh, Woh, Woh, you want me to kill someone? Before it was blowing a building up.” Ellie clarified. “Who the fuck warranted this much?”

“Multiple people actually.” The taller clarified.

Ellie couldn’t believe she agreed to helping. Technically she didn’t but if she didn’t then her friends were good as gone. 

“Why can’t you do it?”

“Because it’s a bunch of elders. They don’t like me very much.” 

“So you want the elders to burn, literally, because they don’t like you?” Jesus, even she wasn’t that harsh towards Seth when he called her and Dina a not so nice word. 

“There’s more to it! I have a long list of reasons why I don’t like them but yeah. That’s the jist.” 

“I’m not burning anybody until I know what I’ve gotten myself into, and that list.” Ellie put her foot down, hopefully her friends weren’t threatened again.

“I, You, fuck! You want the truth?” Nakita asked.

“What I’ve been waiting for.” Ellie said.

Nakita walked over to a table and sat down. She pulled a bottle of whiskey out from a draw and a few glasses.

“More old world things?” Ellie asked.

“Yeah more old world shit. You want a glass or not?” Nakita’s offer seemed less than simply being nice and more out of anger.

“No.” But it was tempting. The Scotch must be really good if it was this old. But no, keep a sober mind when dealing with explosives. Even more so when dealing with Nakita,

Nakita poured herself a glass and downed it faster than Dina downed Ellie’s glass at the winter dance. 

“Those elders are getting married,” Nakita was just drinking out of the bottle now. “They’re getting married to kids.”

Nakita put the bottle down and stood. That should be enough to keep her tongue loose enough to answer Ellie’s question. But damn was it tempting to down the whole bottle. “When I was their age it was illegal to have sex. They’re getting married!” 

“And the list?”

“How the elders dictate everyone’s lives, choose who dies and lives. Get all the best things. Homophobic people. Call the shots in the war when they have no experience in command of a military. Marrying kids, did I say that already?”

Ellie exhaled out her nose. This is not what she signed up for. “Alight, so how does this concern you?” 

Ellie wasn’t a heartless bitch but she’d feel a hell of a lot more empathetic if she knew her friends weren’t being stalked by cultists. By Nakita’s fucking soldiers to be more specific.

Nakita grabbed the glass next to the bottle and threw it. It broke against the wall. “One of those kids are…” 

“Are yours?” Ellie asked.

“No, but I care for her and her sister. I showed her how to fight and shoot and kill. That’s how it pertains to me. After being forced to marriage she ran off. Hopefully once they’re all dead I can convince her and her sibling to come back, if the remaining elders forgive her for everything else she pulled.” Nakita told her. She wiped her mouth.

“Now do me favor Ellie, and close your eyes and imagine being thirteen or fourteen and forced to marry a man three times your fucking age.” Nakita growled in Ellie’s face. God she was far more scary when she wasn’t in control of her emotions. The smell of alcohol on her breath made it even more intimidating.

Ellie shuttered at the thought. “But why do you need me?” 

“I don’t know shit about explosives and I’m banned from Hillcrest. I voiced my displeasure and now I’m not allowed there. I’ll be shot on site and I’m being watched. To ensure I stay away.” She explained to the other.

“Hillcrest, wait, that's a town not far from here. Why are they getting married in old world territory? Shouldn’t they be doing it on their island? And how do you know they aren’t watching you now?” Ellie was seriously confused.

“Gave them the slip in the subway tunnels. Spores and infect everywhere. The others don’t like gas masks. The marriage happens every other year. Also where  _ She  _ got married. So there’s an exception.” Nakita grumbled. Always some exception with the Seraphites. Pain in her ass if anyone asked her.

“Why are you with them if you hate them so much?” Her life was like an oxymoron. 

“I,” she took a deep breath. “I have my reasons. Mainly for the people serving under me. I try to help others.”

How did she do that? By killing the enemy? Nakita did not strike Ellie as a compassionate person. 

Nakita could see confusion in her eyes. “I train the girls I can to the best of my ability. Show the elders they’d be better off on the field than married. But it didn’t work this time. So do we have a deal?”

“If I do it you’ll leave me and my friends alone. For good unless provoked?” She didn’t even know why she was asking that question. They probably would kill her the second she was done doing it.

“Make a list of your exact friends. Just the word friends is subjective, and yes me and the Seraphites under my command will leave you alone. But kill the priest there and I’ll even owe you. But make sure that fucker is gone.”

“Everyone in the aquarium, and how the hell am I gonna know who’s under your command?”

“Any Seraphite with old world gear. More gear then normal, grey coats and guns. Probably boots and jeans if they can find them.” Nakita told Ellie. 

“So what’ll you be doing while I’m doing this?” Ellie asked. Was she gonna sit her and drink while Ellie did her dirty work?

“I’ll be off ensuring WLF members don't stray too close. I can’t have them scaring away the elders. It’s my only shot.” Nakita whispered.

Ellie approached the explosives and nearly shit her pants. “What the fuck?!”

She pulled the wire from the energy source. She looked at Nakita ready to scream an eardrum into uselessness. But didn’t at remembering the whole reason Nakita got her was because she didn’t know how explosives worked. 

Ellie grabbed a bag and loaded them up. This was so not how to properly transport explosives. She knew it. If they went off then it was her fault, she was the one who knew about explosives. At least she was sober. Fucking Nakita left the energy source connected to the point of detonation. 

“Wait, what building is it?”

Nakita pulled a map out. “This one.” She pointed to it. “It’s a big fucking brick thing and I need you to make sure they are dead. I don’t care if you kill innocents, animals, or fucking endangered species make sure the elders are dead. 30 adults this time. Maybe 45 if you include the whitenesses. The priest will be wearing a metal Seraphite necklace.”

Nakita threw her a leather belt. “Incase you get caught.”

“So I can hang myself?” Ellie sarcastically asked.

Nakita grabbed the belt and belt buckle. Then twisted it. A push dagger was revealed. “Incase you somehow get captured. I need you to complete this mission, which I know you will.”

Ellie raised an eyebrow. Nakita was so sure she was gonna do it.

“I know you will. You’re The Demon.” The way Nakita said it. Not mocking but not encouraging either. 

“Well what the three Seraphites I talked to said. Now go, it’s already late enough and I need to call off my troops.” She said.

Ellie nodded headed out as she put the belt on. Guess she knew Ellie was immune. That’s what they call the infected. The real question was if John knew. She definitely was curious as to why she wasn’t asking more questions but she wasn’t about to bring it up.

This was fucking chaos. She was running a big fucking errend for the very person she despised. She was going to kill those elders for her friends being watched by her soldier. Not for her. Maybe for the kids forced to be with people three times their age. That part made her skin crawl for a multitude of reasons. 

It was fucking sick. Ellie remembered being fourteen. That was not a good year for her. Best friend died, Joel got injured and she hacked a man’s face in with a machete. Marriage was the last thing in her mind. Also because she didn’t swing like that. 

Ellie was walking down the road when she realized how militarist she felt when she got her stuff. God knows how much is on her and a military grade shotgun. What she really wanted was a bullet resistant vest. Might help with the amount of arrows getting stuck in her.

Ellie made it to the building. It definitely had the Seraphite touch to it with how it was reinforced with logs and branches. Ellie walked through to see everything ready.

The place was cleaned and everything pushed aside. The orange light of a setting sun filled the room, showing the dust particles floating in the air. Tomorrow morning 45 adults will be burning alive here. It was a gruesome thought. To know where one stood was where someone would breath their last breath.

She wondered how to hide the explosives. The floor was concrete and the walls were brick. She could always lay it out on the ground and hope they didn’t notice it. 

No, she was gonna hollow out a few of the pieces of wood and hide them in there. She hoped that they wouldn’t turn the wood around, it would expose the explosives hidden inside.

Ellie linked the explosives with the detonator after connecting the power source to the explosives. How to power sources are still good was beyond her. Then headed out, camping in a building diagonal to the one she set the explosives in.

Where the hell did Nakita even pull these explosives from? Not even the WLF had these. She would know, she was the one that understood how to use them the best. Therefore she was the one being bothered whenever they had explosives to deal with.

Fuck, she was exhausted. Dealing with said mortal enemy tends to take it out of a person. Ellie was tempted to make a fire but didn’t. She couldn’t risk it. If she was found the plan was shot, and any chance of getting her friends out alive.

Ellie looked at her watch and decided to get some shut eye. She placed the detonator on the other side of the room. She did not want to accidentally roll onto the thing and blow the building to kingdom come in the middle of the night.

_ Ellie walked down the streets of Jackson with Dina. Hand in hand as music played somewhere. But Ellie knew something bad would happen. She just knew it but couldn’t say anything. Her body wouldn’t allow it! _

_ The sky was blue without a cloud in sight. A cool breeze was moving her hair to the side. The sun hit Dina’s eyes, giving them this twinkle she loved.  _

_ It was a perfect scene with a dark moment coming up. She just wanted to warn Dina, even if she had no clue what the feeling of dread was. _

_ She couldn’t release Dina’s hand. She was laughing at some joke Dina said but she didn’t hear it. All she knew was it was funny and she was laughing at it. Stuck in a body on autopilot. _

_ Then something exploded, knocking them back. When Ellie sat up she wasn’t wearing her button up flannel but a tank top. The cloth wrapping on her right arm was gone.  _

_ Dina was staring at her. “You, I can’t be with you.” _

_ “What?!” Why was Dina bringing up their relationship?! A bomb went off! And the sky was a deep orange. The time literally changed in a blink of an eye! _

_ “I’m sorry Ellie. I just need someone who I can rely on.” _

_ “What are you talking about?” Ellie tried to stand but her legs refused to work and all she managed was a weak crawl. _

_ “Look at you.” Dina trailed off. _

_ Elk looked at herself. The word permanently etched into her collar. WRATH. All in capital letters and her arm out in the open.  _

_ “You broke, how can I be with someone who would give up their own. I know the circumstances were bad Ellie, but I need someone I can rely on.” Dina explained. _

_ Suddenly Joel was there. He said nothing, just shook his head in disappointment. Hands in his pockets when he walked away. _

_ Dina turned and started walking away as well. Ellie knew Dina was going to walk into the building she armed with explosives. Why was it in Jackson? Why was she in Jackson?  _

_ “Dina!” Ellie wheezed. Her voice suddenly gave out. _

_ She extended her hand and shouted again. “Dina! No… don’t go in.” _

_ All she could do was watch as Dina entered the building with Jesse. “Jesse! Don’t!” Her voice wheezed out. _

_ The building blew up and bathed her in flames and all she did was stare at it. Fucking useless and alone.  _

_ She felt a boot stomp on her back. “Shoulda killed us when you could’ve.” Jacob told her. _

_ She knew it was Jacob. She just knew it. When she turned to see him he was walking away. With John and Nakita at his sides. _

Ellie woke with a gasp. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. She drank the rest of her water and looked at her watch. 9:56. Fuck, she slept far longer then she anticipated.

Damn dreams. She wouldn’t let anything happen to those she cared about. What if her best wasn’t good enough? Like all those families in the beginning, promising each other they’d make it out. All those fathers vowing to protect their kids. Mothers saying they’d never let their babies go.

No! She was going to be good enough. For the Saltlake crew, for the town of Jackson, for Dina and Joel and all she cared about. She could do it, will do it.

She glanced out the window to see a few Scars outside the building. Fuck them and their ways. Crashing this train wreck of a marriage would be a joy. 

Ellie grabbed the detonator and sat back against the wall and watched them interact. It almost seemed normal, except for the marrying kids part and it being set in a post apocalyptic world.

But no one would know it was after the fall. There was no tell tale sign of the end of the world. Just a town a little too quiet, and a group of people in a building. Nothing post apocalyptic about that.

She even saw two of them standing outside talking and laughing. One nudged the other and she could see he was smiling. Probably was smiling, like a big family gathering. 

10:50. Ellie was ready to pull the detonator any minute. She was tempted to do it ten minutes early but what if something happened at eleven? That’s why Nakita specifically said eleven. She couldn’t fuck it up. Not with the Saltlake crew’s lives on the line. Eleven was when she detonated the explosives.

Now she was getting that feeling. The feeling right before the trigger is pulled. Like when she was laying on that rooftop on one of those missions Isaac assigned her with the hunting rifle. Except worse because she wasn’t focused on wind speed or the gun swaying.

She remembered when the Scar she had in her crosshairs had no idea his life was going to be cut so short. Whenever a situation like it came up, it was extremely empowering. But terrifying as well. 

No matter how good she got with a gun she just couldn’t forget that it was a life at the end of it. Maybe it was what that hunter said all those years ago when Joel was injured.

_ Those were my friends you killed asshole _

That simple thing that that man said all those years ago stuck with her. Even though he was shooting at them it made her think, even for a fraction of a second. That they were human. Then David came into the mix but she never got pleasure from anything she did.

It was an odd thing. Enjoying the adrenaline. Getting a rush in a gunfight but having it haunt the dreams she had weeks later. All the killing and stress making for sleepless nights. But she missed it? Being in Jackson was so peaceful. Being human was tough to say the least.

Some kid ran outside for a moment then headed back inside. A kid? Ellie was never informed of any kids in the area. It was mentioned though. But if she didn’t, Nakita would have the Saltlake crew killed. She imagined them hanging from the building, disemboweled. Would they be mad at her? Would they resent her in their final moments? Knowing that she could have done something? Would they even think of her in their final moments?

No! They weren’t going to wonder if Ellie could have saved them because Ellie was going to follow through with her end of the bargain and Nakita was going to keep hers. All she needed to do was detonate the explosives. It was that easy.

The watch hit eleven and the beeping went off. Before she could fucking pussy out she held the detonator in her left hand and looked at. Then squeezed it with more force than necessary.

The building erupted in fire. For a second she thought she could hear screaming. But the amount of explosives should have killed them all almost instantly. Unless not all went off but she triple checked the connection. 

Like that, she felt relief knowing the Saltlake crew was safe. As long as Nakita held up her end of the bargain. Which she would, she had to. Deal is a deal. Right? Ellie walked out of the building and went to report it to Nakita when a door fell off its hinges.

Ellie paused. 30 bodies right? No, she didn’t need to see a bunch of burnt up corpses to know she did her job. But shouldn’t she check? Ellie didn’t want to see it, but somehow she felt obligated. After all she was the one to kill them all. 

Ellie masked any discomfort with a stern look and walked to the building. The smell of burning flesh was there, it was a sickly sweet smell mixed with burning wood.

She looked inside. The fire was already mostly out, the explosives were designed to be a flash fire and this building wasn’t exactly made of flammable material. The stench was even stronger.

Ellie covered her face as she walked further in. The heat was immense compared to the outside. There were a bunch of bodies her size or larger on the right side of the room. 

Ellie took another step in when a body grabbed her and shoved her to the wall. Something burning the palm of her left hand. 

“Ahah!” Ellie screamed. Not just in pain but of what seemed to be a corpse lunging at her. He was charred to hell and he looked like something out of a horror movie. But even she knew the horror movies were fake.

“They… were just…. young. Marrying...” The man whimpered out before falling to the ground. A steel chain with the Seraphite symbol hung from a charred neck. His hand landing on her foot.

Ellie yanked her left hand from what was burning it. She looked at it. Two crescent shapes with a line going through both of them. A Seraphite symbol.

When Ellie looked past her left hand she saw it. Bodies, all smaller than hers. Fucking kids. 

Ellie’s heart dropped. Her mouth was dry and suddenly it felt cold despite flames flickering on the ground burning the wood remains. She looked at the doors leading to another room and felt dread. 

Dare she open them? Ellie forced herself to move. Forced her hand to raise and pull open the door despite it burning her hand. Forced herself to look forward, face the horrors she inflicted on them.

More bodies. More innocent. Her world was spinning. But what haunted her was what was in front of her. 

Two bodies. One on their knees holding another. The bigger cradling the smaller one, covering their eyes. Their mouths open in a silent scream. 

The white teeth shown as the lips and eyelids were burned away in the flash fire. Dark holes in the skull stared at her, tracking her.

Ellie shook her head and walked out. She fell to the ground and pushed herself onto her back. The sun shone down on her. But she didn’t feel it. Didn’t feel the sweat drip from her face. 

She didn’t know how long she was there. Eventually she sat up and walked away. She had to do it. She had to do it. If she didn’t then others would have died. Nakita had them hostage. She didn’t know there were kids there. She never saw them enter. If she was given more time then she could’ve worked something out. It wasn’t like she had a choice! Right?

Ellie was walking down the street when someone tackled her into a ditch. She immediately started fighting them off when she interrupted. “Sh! Shhh!” 

She pointed to a few Seraphites walking where she was not five seconds ago. “Remember, John wants her alive. He has business with her.” 

“I know. Elders want her as well. We’ve got to get her before they do.” Responded the other.

Ellie looked at the woman who tackled her. Grey coat and a gun on her. She was missing her left eye and a few teeth. The nose was crooked, probably from fighting. “That was too close. You need to be more careful, Demon.” A hint of Japanese in his voice.

“You’re one of Nakita’s?”

“Yes.” She nodded.

“Christine, but the others call me Chris.” She extended a hand. “I know it’s odd, blame the others.” She watched the two men already down the street.

“Why is John after me? If she wants me doing her work she’s making it difficult!” Ellie hissed at her.

“John ha _ s _ gone AWOL.” She explained. She looked around to make sure now no one was around. “He is obsessed with killing you. Gone crazy if you ask me. Made it his life’s mission to off you.”

That was news. She never expected John to go off the deep end. “I just need to get back and tell Nakita I done!” 

“Understandable, John recruited others to hunt you.” She got up and made two low short whistles and then a long high pitched one.

“But we’re here to help you. Nakita needs those elders dead and I’m in charge.”

The forest echoed back what sounded like dozens of whistles, the same pattern. Two short whistles and one long one. Ellie looked at Chris, or Christine if she could remember it.

“So much easier. You can do it right?” He asked her.

Fuck. The face she made must have said it all because she sighed and rubbed her face. “Learn. That was if the coast was clear. They repeat if it is. Now go.”

“Wait, why are you helping me now? They’re gone.”

“Because, my enemy’s enemy is my friend. I’m also the only one Nakita can trust to ensure you don’t perish.” She grinned at her. “And I think I’m doing a damn fine job.”

Ellie got up and headed to the store. That was an interesting conversation. If John was AWOL then he was far less predictable. Even the Seraphite community had some law and order.

She just wanted to go back to the aquarium. The attack on the island was a day away. Then they could steal some vehicles and make a run for it. Back to the peaceful town in Wyoming.

Ellie had to report to Nakita if she wanted her friends to live. She couldn’t just let them die so she made the tough call. It was the hand she was dealt and she made the most of it. It was as simple as that. She did the right thing!

Ellie pushed past it all and headed back to the bookstore before Nakita thought she abandoned the task. She needed to keep her head on a swivel if she wanted to keep it. Bad enough that Chis has to save her from some renegade Seraphites.

Ellie walked in. Nakita was pacing around the room. She turned when Ellie walked in. “You are here. Are they gone?”

“Yeah they’re gone. Fucking priest is too.” Ellie didn’t bring up the kids. Why should she? After all she needed to care for the crew. Maybe she should? She didn’t know.

“You make sure? Ellie I can’t have a surprise visit from an elder.” 

“There. Were. No. Survivors.” Ellie growled as she glared at her. “Heard John is AWOL. Met Chris.”

Nakita sighed. “Glad you met her.” A small smile showed on her face. “John started when I gave you temporary immunity. But as promised I removed the watch yesterday. After we talked. Thank you for taking out the priest as well, he encouraged marriage to be younger, the sick bastard.” Nakita told Ellie.

Ellie couldn’t take just how peaceful Nakita was. “Did you know there was going to be kids?” Ellie whispered. 

Nakita stopped pacing and turned to Ellie with a neutral face. “Might have been a possibility. But I figured it wouldn’t change anything.” 

Ellie’s eyes widened. “It changes everything! They’re just kids and you had me kill them!”

Nakita listened and sighed. “So if I told you yesterday that you would be choosing between Scars and your little wolf pack, you’d choose Scars?” She tilted her head.

Ellie growled. “I could’ve done something different! Only put explosives in the first room.”

“You are acting as if you knew where everything would be. You wouldn’t in this hypothetical situation. Now tell me with a straight face that you wouldn’t do it all again if it meant saving them.” Nakita said.

Ellie opened her mouth, then closed it. She couldn’t deny it. That was the worst part. Nakita new she wouldn’t allow harm to come to them if she could help it and she was rubbing it in.

“I knew it. You’d kill a thousand kids in a thousand different ways if it meant saving them.” Nakita told her.

“Because you had them hostage.”

“Yes, for you to listen to my deal. You could have said no.” She offered.

“Bullshit. You never gave me that option.” Ellie was fuming pissed at everything. “Don’t go pretending that there was another option!”

“You’re right. I kept my word on a crooked deal. But in my perspective I had no choice. In your perspective you had no choice. We’re in the same boat.” Nakita told her.

“We are not in the same boat!” Ellie yelled back.

“Don’t feel bad. I’d burn the world for the kids I looked after and I know someone out there would do it for you. Probably has.” Nakita patted her shoulder. Then walked past her. Getting physical contact from her made Ellie’s skin crawl.

“Booze is in the bottom drawer. I know I need it to sleep. God knows you’ll probably need it.” She walked out leaving Ellie in the room alone.

Ellie looked around. Only now did she realize she was shaking. Fire was not something Ellie should be allowed near. It was never a good thing. For her or for others.

Ellie walked over to the desk draw and yanked it open. Two bottles clinked together. She was tempted to break the glass bottles but decided not to. It would be a waste of whiskey. 

Ellie put them in her bag and headed out. A dead deer lay at the entrance. It was not there when she came in that was for fucking sure. 

She looked around but there was no sign of any Scars in the area. Nakita sure as shit wasn’t around. The universe had a funny way of giving her what she wanted when she forgot about it, or straight up didn’t care about it any more.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried my damndest on this chapter.


	26. Calm Before The Storm

Ellie quickly wrapped her burned hand and got to work on the deer immediately. She could gut it here and try and lighten the load. Fuck she really wished she had a horse, or truck, or Abby to help her move it. She’d hate for any of the meat to spoil simply because she couldn’t move it in time.

She heard footsteps behind her. Quickly Ellie drew her bow and turned around as she spoke. “Nakita I will shoot you- what?”

Manny and Abby had their hands raised. Once Ellie lowered the bow they lowered their hands. “Nakita, as in her? Ellie what happened?” Manny asked.

“Nothing, just help me with the deer. Keep thinking I see her.” 

Manny and Abby were skeptical but didn’t want to push her further than she was comfortable with. It was a touchy subject and they knew that forcing answers could be damaging.

She pointed to the deer. “My arm, it’s getting tired.” She mumbled. 

“Where did you get this?” Abby was holding the AA-12.

“Basement a few roads down.” She crouched next to Manny and helped him the best she could. 

She saw Abby looking down the iron sites. “I let you have the flamethrower.” Ellie told her.

“Just looking at it. Beside, the flamethrower is way cooler.” Abby bragged and put Ellie’s shotgun back down where she picked it up. 

“I think you mean way hotter.” Manny said. He leaned next to Ellie. “Plan on talking? She already knows.”

“You told her?”

“Sì. I told you I would and you bailed.” Manny whispered to her. 

“Then why do I have to say anything?” 

“Because she’s your best friend and feels kinda betrayed.” Manny gave her a look. The look said talk to her.

Ellie looked at the deer. “You’ll be fine if I leave?”

“Not the first time I cleaned a deer, El. Now go talk to her.” Ellie looked at Abby. She was keeping a lookout. But she seemed stiff and uncomfortable. Like she didn’t want to be here.

“Hey Abby.” 

“Ellie, good kill. That’s more than enough to last us till Thursday.” It was currently Tuesday. 

“I want to explain.”

Abby stopped watching the sunset and looked at Ellie. “Manny told me you’re immune. Ellie, why didn’t you say anything before?” 

Ellie looked down. “Just, part of why the Fireflies are gone. Probably played a role in your father’s death. Sorta thing.” Ellie mumbled.

“It was Nakita that killed him.”

“Yeah, If I wasn’t immune I’d never of needed to be saved. The Fireflies would have still been around.” 

“No,” Abby said and looked at Ellie. “The Fireflies weren’t gonna last long. Joel was just the straw that broke the camel's back.” Abby looked down. A sad truth.

“Sounds like you weren’t really supportive of your people.” Ellie observed.

“My father was my people, Owen, Manny, the Saltlake crew, you. But the others? Soldiers. Ellie, they blew up checkpoints and killed soldiers.” Abby explained.

“I know. That’s actually how I got my first scar.” She rubbed her eyebrow. “Not that it matters. They’re gone and I’ve got more scars.”

“Ellie, of course it matters! You saw what they did. We did…” 

“Abby, I was 13 when it happened. I highly doubt you were attacking checkpoints in Boston.” Ellie told her. “Besides I got like, real popular at military school for a day.” 

Abby and Ellie shared a small laugh. “Had all the girls swooning for you?”

“Nah, but I was after Riley.” Ellie said without thinking.

“Who’s Riley?”

“Oh, umm. She was my best friend. She Umm, was gonna join the Fireflies. We partied in a mall until infected came.” Ellie sighed, remembering that day. 

_ What’s option three?  _

Oh how she wanted option three so bad. Anything to change the events that took place. 

“We got bit. It was gonna be all poetic, losing our minds together.” Ellie finished.

“But you never did.” Abby said.

“But I never did. Marlene found me and nearly shot me but didn’t. She knew my mother before, but I didn’t. From there it’s history.” Ellie extended her arms and then let them fall.

Abby looked at Ellie. One would never look at Ellie and think she’d been through it all. Well maybe they would consider her time spent in Seattle. Really did a number on her.

“All done!” Manny called.

“Come on, let’s go help Manny.” Abby said. 

They were loading the meat into some bags. “Remind me again why you have plastic lining in your bags. Do I even want to know Manny?” Abby asked him.

“This is for ice. To keep drinks cold.” 

Manny was inventive, that’s for damn sure. “Why do you need cold drinks?”

“Because there aren’t any coolers outside the stadium. Duh?” 

Ellie knew Manny was a ladies man but this was too much. She’d rather deal with Mel and Nora lecturing her health! Speaking of Nora. She really hoped she was ok. Probably should try and see if she’s still alive. But really, she was alive.

Ellie knew she was alive and all right but the whole crew went AWOL in 24 hours was probably rough. 

“Alright let’s go.” Abby said.

As they were walking Manny got the bright idea to start joking. Did this guy ever not joke? “Hey Abby, look.” He shifted the bag on his back. “My meaty sack.”

“Manny What the fuck is wrong with you?” She asked.

“Wait, I think yours is bigger.” He said looking at her bag. “Can I touch it?”

Ellie looked at Abby. “Was he dropped as a baby?” 

“More like thrown to a ceiling fan, that launched him into a wall.” Abby told Ellie.

“I heard that!” 

“We know.” Abby responded before laughing and looking back at Ellie she had a tired smile on her face. Being with them again made her feel better. 

They arrived at the aquarium and started cooking what they could. Lev and Yara were showing them how to smoke it to preserve it. 

All Ellie could think about was the explosives she detonated. Here they were laying meat over a fire eating venison and drinking hooch, god Ellie needed to make a solar still or something to avoid Owen’s creation. 

They used a steel grate as a large grill over the fire. Yara, against Mel’s orders, wanted to be productive and picked wild berries earlier this morning. It served as a bitter sweet sauce. Something to dress up the plain meat.

It was nice. A few days of moral lifting meals. Especially considering they’d be stealing vehicles and running from everything they knew to go with Ellie to Jackson.

From what Joel told her this meal was better than most of the meals the common people ate. Meat and booze were a thing of wealth in the old world. They still were in away. 

Ellie wondered if they were being watched. Nakita said she called the others back, but what if it was a lie? What if she was bluffing the whole time in order to get Ellie to do what she wanted? No, Nakita said what she meant. Was Chris around?

Ellie wanted to enjoy this meal but couldn’t. All she could see was the face of the woman holding the child in her arms. Everything she endured seemed so small at what she did. Ellie almost felt like what she went through wasn’t enough. Like she deserved worse. 

But she saved the people sitting here. Eating deer meat she didn’t even catch. What a fucked it situation this caused. She felt disgusted with herself. She dealt with the devil and now they were eating the fruit. Figuratively. This was deer.

Owen leaned forward and used two knives to flip the large piece of meat on the steel grate. The sizzle almost made everything seem normal. Like a summer cookout in one of those shows or movies.

Wait a minute, she remembered Nakita. She reached in her bag and pulled out the bottle of whiskey. “Holy shit! El brought the good stuff. Well better than this.” Manny held the tin cup filled with hooch.

“You all are philistines. Every last one of you.” Owen said, drinking his stuff. Even if he did cough after.

Ellie smiled and watched the fire. So far fire was a no bueno for her. Should she even put another piece of wood in the fire or would this whole aquarium spontaneously combust? Maybe blow up.

Must’ve been like that. When she detonated it. She glanced at her left palm where she burned herself. The mark was blistered and peeling. Another reminder of where she’s been and what she’s done.

“Ellie, here.” Manny handed her a plate with the meat on it. “Hope you like well done. Didn’t want to take any chances.” 

“It’s fine. Thanks. Where’d you get the plates?” They were fancy looking and made of glass. Had a cool design on them.

“Got them from a house months ago.” Owen told her. “They even March.” He pointed to the blue on the plate matching the aquarium.

Lev watched Ellie. “So if you’re immune do demons still come after you?”

“Yeah they still come after me.” Ellie told him, recalling all the times infected tried to take a chunk out of her. Snapping rotting teeth inches away from her face. Getting bit multiple times.

“El, El you know what that means right?” Manny asked.

“Do I wanna know?” 

“It means you’re just that delicious!” 

Abby rolled her eyes. “Ha ha so original.”

“Well I’m sure Dina knows it!” He quipped. 

Abby threw a piece of fat from the meat at him. “Fuck you man!... she's top.” Abby added.

“Hey! You backstabber!” Ellie flicked sauce at Abby. 

“We all knew it!” Abby countered. At this point she was gonna grab the nearest cup of hooch and make Ellie wear it.

“Hey! My aquarium, my rules, and my rules say no food fights. I just cleaned the floor and I saw you looking for my creation. You waste my stuff, I waste you!” He told them, but it was an empty threat.

Mel chuckled. “What haven’t you cleaned?”

Abby looked around. “He cleaned everything actually. You didn’t see it but it was a mess. A corpse and everything.”

The friendly bickering and empty threats. Ellie felt at home. Even if it was in Owen’s aquarium. 

Manny nodded and took a bite out of his venison. “Hey Ellie! Did you clean Dina’s-“

“Manny!” Abby hollered. “Seriously, why are you so fucking horny?” 

“Abby, you try not being with a girl for as long as me.” He fake pleaded.

“I definitely beat you.” Abby said.

“Me too.” Mel agreed.

“Same.” Ellie nodded.

“With them.” Owen pointed at the others.

“Take pity on me. Unless?” He glanced at Mel. It was definitely a joke. He would never actually ask her.

“I’ll sleep with you when Ellie proclaims she heterosexual.” She downed the rest of her glass.

Owen laughed at that. “You’ll be waiting for a long time!” He sipped his hooch and placed the cup behind him somewhere.

Everyone chuckled at that. 

“I don’t get it.” Lev said, kinda disappointed he wasn’t in on the joke. Yara was confused as well, her eyes darting between them.

“When Ellie’s straight. That’s the joke. Because she’s not.” Owen explained.

“I thought she was heterosexual?” 

“No she’s, Lev do you know what lesbians means? Or gay for that matter?” Abby asked.

He shook his head. “I’ve only heard the words when no one thought anyone was around.”

“It just means she likes girls. Gay is men liking men.” Abby said simply.

“That wasn’t allowed, I knew someone like you, a group actually.” Lev said looking at Ellie. 

“What happened?” Mel asked.

Lev scratched his head and looked at Yara. “She’s a soldier so she didn’t have to worry about marriage. She plans on dying in the field, the people serving under her were the same. Made into soldiers by her so they don’t have to worry about marriage.” 

Yara nodded. “The only reason we knew was she took us out hunting with some of the others and forgot we were there.”

“Oh.” Ellie said. Nakita. It had to be her. But she didn’t just want to spit it out. After all, did she want to admit to doing any of what she did?

“Can I be both?” He asked. Ellie was glad that the kid couldn’t stay on one topic. He was all over and in an odd way, made her feel young? Something along those lines.

“Yeah. Just means you’re bi.” Ellie told him. “My girlfriend’s bi.”

“But I thought you were a leesion?” 

“Lesbian Lev. Lesion is a wound. Bi just means both.” Abby explained. 

“All these labels are stupid. Can’t people just like who they want and be who they want without labels?” That was the wisest shit any of them heard. 

“Unfortunately no, but you’re right Lev.” Abby said. “I’m bi if that helps.”

He nodded. “Makes sense. I guess, just think people should choose because they care about the person and not what they are.”

God, Ellie saw so much of herself in him, even if she wasn’t transgender. Just not giving a fuck about other people’s options and doing his own thing. That was pretty cool, or cold as he liked to say.

“Well you don’t need to be labeled here.” She told him. Her voice tired and strained. All the talk reminded her of everything she missed. 

“Can I ask a question?” He asked. 

Abby chuckled. “You just did.”

“What’s this?” He held up a Polaroid camera. “Owen and I searched a house and found it this morning.”

Abby reached for it and looked at it. Ellie was next to Abby, crouched at her side. Looking at the item with her. “It’s a camera. A Polaroid. It’s an instant film.” 

“How does it work?”

She snapped a pic and it printed. She grabbed it and waved it in the air a few times to dry it and showed it to him. It was his confused face. 

“That’s so cold! Can I try?”

“Sure. Look through the little hole in the top. Then hit the button right there.” She pointed at the button on the top.

Lev immediately took a picture and one came out. He pulled it and imitated what Abby did, drying the photo. Then looked at it, showing the others his amazing photography work.

It was of Abby pointing at the top of the camera. Ellie was looking at Abby, her hand on Abby’s shoulder to keep herself steady as she was crouched next to her. 

“Is it good?” He asked.

Abby stared at it for a good moment before nodding. “It’s perfect Lev.”

Owen glanced at it and nodded. “People used to take photos all the time before the outbreak. I still got a photo of, my sister.”

The others peeled up at that. He reached in his pocket and pulled out a wallet. There was no money in it. Just a photo. A girl that was similar looking to him was there.

“Sophia.” 

Just like that the wallet was put away and he was asking if Lev wanted more practice with the camera. After all Yara, Mel, Manny and him still needed their photos taken.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don’t write in order all the time. If I get an idea I’ll start writing and later I’ll find a place for it, or not. So here are my questions.
> 
> At the end of this story would any of you want to read the scenes I didn’t use. Some of them are long. Some are short. Kinda just my jumbled ideas thrown together in a story. 
> 
> Also I kinda want to write down my writing process at the end and things I would have changed. Would anyone read that or would it be a waste of time?


	27. Runaway

_Abby ran down the street. She vaulted over a car and ducked under branches. She used her body to slam open the door._

_There Ellie lay. Except bleeding out of the gunshot wound to her chest._

_If only she’d been faster. Not been sitting on her ass watching movies._

She woke with a gasp. Abby had to take a walk and clear her mind. 

She walked down the dimly lit hallway. It was late and the attack was tomorrow afternoon. She went to check in and make sure Ellie was resting, and to put her own mind at ease but didn’t find her.

She went to the dome, the place where Owen proved that seals have spots. Fuck those seals anyway. She was sure not all seals had spots.

She saw Ellie sitting there, with her back turned to the entrance. She wasn’t wearing her usual shirt and grey denim jacket with the WLF patches and her name embroidered on the left chest area. E. Williams. She was in a tank top. 

She looked dead, or how someone with an immense amount of things going through their head would look. She was still as a statue. 

Her scars seemed to glow in there. The way the light reflected off of the new scar tissue. She observed her every detail before approaching her. Making sure her footsteps were heard. “Hey, Ellie.”

“Hey.” She wasn’t looking at Abby.

“Kinda chilly for a tank top. Isn’t it?” She asked.

She shrugged off her jacket and was about to put it on Ellie. “I’m putting something on you.” She told her before doing it. She did not need to accidentally scare her 

“Hmm, thanks.”

Abby sat down next to Ellie and placed her left hand on Ellie’s neck. Her thumb moving gently. Then moving her hand to the left shoulder. “You’ve been distant. Wanna talk about it?”

Ellie felt a burning in her throat. Like she downed a shot of the hard stuff. She wanted to say something but couldn’t. She turned to Abby and opened her mouth but closed it and looked the other way.

What to say. Abby had an attachment to Yara and Lev. She really cared for those kids. Would she care about other kids their age?

Abby glanced down, expecting a wrapped up arm but found nothing. The scarred forearm was out. The misshapen skin and missing tattoo. Only thing she could see was the very end of it, around the wrist and the last bit of it on her hand.

Ellie had a thousand things going through her mind. What she did to those kids. What she said to Nakita when they were in the courthouse. How would she explain it to the citizens of Jackson that she was alive. Her conflicted feelings about Yara and Lev. They were innocent.

Ellie inhaled and got ready to make words. “I talked.” Out of all the things to say? She told Abby that. Better than the wedding thing. Maybe she just wanted to get something off her chest. Even if it was the last thing either of them expected. 

“What?” Abby looked down at her fully this time.

“I told her, information. But it wasn’t what she wanted.” Ellie exhaled. 

“Oh.” Was all Abby let out. She shifted her weight slightly. Leaning against Ellie a bit more. Ellie leaned into the touch, either out of comfort or to balance out the force she experienced, it didn’t matter.

“Do you want to tell me what you told her?” Abby asked.

“The street.” She murmured. 

“Anderson street? But we took that way before you and her…”

“But what if you were still there? I told them exactly where you could’ve been if she gave a shit about it.” Ellie rasped out. “Fuck water.” Ellie cursed.

Abby knew what she was referring to and turned Ellie to her as she got in front of her. “No one expected you to… keep quiet. Just because you said something doesn’t mean shit. I should have told you but we went back to the place.”

Ellie looked at her. “What do you mean went back? Why didn’t You say something sooner? I, I…” 

“You were recovering. You were also out cold when we went anyway. I didn’t want you to be… it should be your choice to say what happened.” She sat down, no longer facing her. “But we wanted to make sure they cleared out. There may have been some curiosity as well.”

Abby sighed. “I didn’t mean to intrude, none of us did. But we had to know. To treat you and fuck! Ellie, what I’m saying is you’re still strong. You survived that. Besides you can make an IED with household items. Make your own arrows. Yank arrows out of yourself. Hell, you managed to put up with Manny!”

Ellie chuckled at the last part. Why did Manny always take the brunt of the jokes when he wasn’t around? Because he always told them when he was around. “Well That last part is true.”

“I’m not telling you to get better. Not after everything they did to you. But can we get some sleep?” Abby asked, a hopeful look on her face.

Abby only knew half of it. She was still obvious to her incendiary incident. Granted she was at fault for it but she dealt with Nakita. Thrown into spores by John and tackled by Chris. Whoever she was. Whoever he was. 

“Didn’t ask you to stay up.” Ellie stated.

“I know. But I was worried. You were distant.” Abby said as she stood and extended a hand. Ellie took it and got up. 

Neither of them knew it but a certain fourteen year old listened in on their conversation. 

Lev backed away slowly before running back to his “room”. He did mean to eavesdrop. He saw Abby walking and followed her to the tunnel. He was curious. 

He never understood why Ellie was so different. Like her body was there but her mind wasn’t. She was also quieter than the other. At least around them.

Lev immediately felt bad, kinda sick? Maybe slightly mad that Ellie tried her damndest to avoid him. He wasn’t the one to do that to her. But he reminded her of the person who did those things. He rubbed his face. 

He also knew she was infamous among the Seraphites so that didn’t help with his opinion. He knew that but controlling emotions was easier said than done.

Lev knew she had lacerations on her arms and back but that was it. Everything else was in front and out of his view. So he didn’t see why Ellie kept her arm covered.

He was definitely disappointed in the Seraphites as well. Probably why he felt so sad. But sick? It was like a very watered down version of what he felt for his sister. But definitely there.

Ellie woke up on the couch in the main area or living room as Owen called it. She glanced down and saw she still had Abby’s jacket from before. Realizing all her stuff was in another room she slipped the large jacket over her. 

When Dina called her string bean it meant thin. Now that she was in Abby’s jacket she looked even Smaller. Jesus that woman was huge!

Ellie walked down the hall to hear yelling. “Fuck you Yara, I won’t leave her!” 

“Lev wait.”

He charged in the vague direction of Ellie before storming off. Abby was beside Yara asking her if she was ok. Don’t listen to anyone who says Abby is a cold heartless killing machine.She was actually a big softie, under the hard grime covered scary looking exterior that probably was spiked.

Ellie was gonna give them privacy but was called over. “Ellie, can you help us look for Lev?” 

“Sure.”

“Is that Abby’s jacket?” Yara observed.

“Shit.” Ellie grumbled and pulled it off and handed it to Abby. Abby reluctantly accepted it back.

“Wot?” Ellie’s Boston accent came full force when she saw Yara staring at her and her arm. Her head tilted slightly as if daring her to say something. Obviously it wasn’t meant to be threatening but Ellie definitely came off that way. Being from Boston didn’t help either.

“Sorry.” Yara averted her gaze to something else. Ellie looked like an incarnation of war and everything bad about it. Ellie’s anger didn’t help.

Ellie sighed. “I’ll get dressed, then I’ll look for Lev. Any ideas where he might be?”

“No.”

Ellie threw on her clothes and ran out still wrapping her arm up. She was wearing the grey jacket with the WLF patches and E. Williams on the left front shoulder. Something given to her about halfway through her stay.

She tied her boots. Again, Seattle ground is not forgiving with canvas sneakers. She put the belt on and ran out.

She bandaged her hand. A long whistle echoed through the halls. Then another from the same direction. She followed it to Yara.

“What’s that whistle mean?”

“It’s a callout. I'm asking if there are any Seraphites in the area. If others whistle back I know I’m not alone.” She explained.

“So if one doesn’t you know something happened? Because he didn’t respond?” 

“Yes.” 

Ellie nodded. “Lev!” Ellie started an attempted whistle but quickly decided not to. She was trying not to embarrass herself in front of Yara and her distinct lack of whistling abilities.

“Try pressing your tongue against the bottom teeth and curl slightly.” Yara said. 

When Ellie did it a whistle came. A half baked one but a goddamn difference compared to her harshly blowing out before. “You’ll get it.”

“Thanks…. Lev!” Still nothing. “Any Seraphite callouts I should know?”

“If you hear a lower quick whistle it means something is happening. Footprints or moving greenery. Just a loud long one means an Enemy in the area. Why?” Yara asked.

“Always hearing them.”

Abby looked out at the aquarium. “Why did he run off?”

“He’s upset. He wants to bring his mother with us but she’s a devout follower. She’d kill him if she could see him.” Yara said.

“Maybe he just needs something to cheer him up?” Abby offered. 

“He loves sharks.” 

“Loves sharks but hates water.” Abby chuckled at that.

“He must really like you two.” Yara observed. 

“Well if I wasn’t clinging to the steel beams shaking I don’t think he would’ve told me.” Abby admitted to her.

Where was that little shit!? Ellie didn’t know where he could’ve gone. The aquarium was only so big, right? Not like those portals in her comics. 

As they walked through Alice ran up to Yara with one of her toys and squeeked it. Yara recoiled but Alice advanced and squeeked it once more. Then dropped it at her feet.

“I think she wants you to throw it.” She subtly scooted behind Abby. 

Any picked up the toy octopus and threw it. Alice ran after it and brought it back. Dropping it at Abby’s feet. She did it a few times before offering it to Yara. “No thanks.”

“She won’t bite. Promise.” Abby encouraged her.

She tossed it across the room and Alice trotted to it and brought it back. She dropped it back again. This time with more confidence Yara threw it so far it went into the hall and Alice ran at it.

Yara glanced at Ellie. She was leaning against a wall deep in thought. About what Yara didn’t know. “Ellie, Ellie? You want to throw it?”

“Hmm? No, I’ll play with her later.” Ellie told Yara and pushed herself from the wall. Abby watched her a second longer then Yara. 

“We should keep looking for something for him.” Ellie said and pushed past them.

“Yeah.” Abby slowly agreed. 

Ellie shoved shit to the side looking for something presentable. Most of the stuff had water damage or just wasn’t good for a 14 year old.

“What about this?” Abby held up a shark that actually was presentable and in good condition.

“I think he’d love it.” Yara smiled.

“Abby what have I told you about taking my stuff?”

“Didn’t realize everything here was yours.” 

“My aquarium, my stuff.” He pointed to himself. 

Yara’s face fell into sadness. “Not you, you can take whatever you want.” He turned to Abby. “You can’t.”

He looked at Ellie. “I’m watching you as well.” Ellie offhandedly flipped him off and continued looking at what was on the table.

It was a survival guide on interrogation of all fucking things. “Where were you when I needed you?”

She glossed over some of the things. The thing didn’t have any guides on how to survive getting a tattoo burned off. Then again it was pretty authentic to her. How thoughtful of the twins.

“LEV!”

Everyone within hearing range shot up and ran to where Yara was calling. “What’s going on?!” Owen asked.

They were looking out onto the ocean. A boat going to the island. Guess he did know how to use a motorboat. “He’s going after our mother. She’ll kill him, we have to go after him.”

“What about your arm?” Ellie asked. 

“I had a week to heal.” 

Manny put his hands up. “The storm is here! What’s the plan?!”

Abby looked around. “Same as it always is. You, Owen, and Mel steal the trucks and supplies. Grab Nora by the way. Ellie, Yara, and I will go after Lev and bring him home.” 

“I’m grabbing my father!” Manny called.

“You do that!” Abby yelled back.

Ellie followed Abby and Yara. They were heading to get a boat from a dock. 

They were running down the street when a gunshot rang through the air and rubble flew into the air right in front of Yara. “Get down!”

They all took cover. “Who the hell could that be?!” Abby yelled.

“How should I know!” 

“Rhetorical Ellie!” 

Another bullet whizzed by, taking a corpse's head off. “We have to take him out if we want to get to the boats!”

“I know! Through there!” Ellie pointed to a pipe large enough to crawl through. Abby went first, then Yara. Last was Ellie, making sure they made it. 

Abby laid on the ground and crawled behind some asphalt that was raised. It slowly broke as bullets assaulted it.

They were behind a truck. Ellie went to peak but a bullet nicked the metal she was leaning against. She grabbed a piece of glass to use as a mirror but it was immediately shot out of her hand.

“Under here.” Yara said and pointed to a space under the truck. 

They were taking cover behind another vehicle. “If we can get into the building we can ambush the fucker.” Abby growled.

“We’ll get shot to shit if we even peak out.” 

“Can we use this?” Yara was pulling on a cart of gas tanks. Hell yes, Abby may not be a welder or work in a shop but she knew damn well those tanks were thick. Had to be to sustain the amount of pressure.

Abby and Ellie pushed it to the other side. Yara kept her head down. Once it couldn’t be pushed anymore they ran into the building. 

They ran through halls and up stairs. “Who do you think it is? No trespasser in their right mind would do this!” Abby shouted. 

“Might not be a trespasser.” Ellie said. Nakita you son of a bitch. Her men were the only ones to use guns so proficiency. If it was a Scar she’d gut that woman. 

They burst through the doors to get shot at and see a fleeing person in grey. Not helpful. Wolves and Nakita’s men both wore grey.

“Come on!” Abby yelled, running after them.

“Here, we can cut them off!” Ellie pointed to the door. Abby and Ellie tried forcing it open. 

They looked at each other but just out the corner of Abby’s eye she saw movement. “Ellie down!”

She tackled Ellie just as the gun went off. “Fuck the side route I’m going after that bastard!”

Abby chased after them. She burst through a door and got hit on the side of the head with a gun, knocking her to the side. Abby recovered and grabbed the gun. They wrestled over it. She could see it was a black haired man. One of Isaac’s generals.

“Abby. You deserter!”

“Fuck you!”

Ellie kicked him in the leg and threw him to the ground and followed through with a switchblade to the throat. She yanked it out and staggered to her feet. “Why’s one of Isaac’s generals here and not attacking?” Ellie wondered allowed.

“Shit, you don’t think…” Abby trailed off.

“They’ll be ok. We just gotta do our jobs.” Ellie said. Just gotta complete the task at hand.

They made their way to the marina when they heard a noise. They all shot up. A man, Seraphite came out. “Yara?”

“Zane?”

He looked at Abby and Ellie for a minute. The two Wolves that caused so much trouble. His smile faltered for a fraction of a second. “It’s so good to see you we thought you..”

He hugged her tight. Then looked her over. “Your arm. Who did this?”

“I’m fine, they saved me.” She gestured to the two WLF standing behind her. 

He turned to them. A grin so wide it would put the Joker from Batman to shame. “Thank you. I’ve known Yara so long if she died I’d lose it.” He spoke a little too clearly. His eyes open wide. 

“Zane, we’re heading to the marina.” Yara told him.

“I know the way. Come!” He ran off. “though here.” 

“But why can’t we stay outside?” Ellie asked.

Zane sighed. “Because staying outside will get you shot. A small detour to keep your head is a small price to pay.”

This building seemed alright for being abandon. Debris moved to the sides to create a walkway and it looked lived in. Ellie didn’t feel comfortable with it. 

Zane turned and stopped. “I need to do something.”

Ellie and Abby looked at each other. Then Abby was struck over the head. Ellie jumped away just in time to avoid a collision with a wooden plank. Unfortunately she ran right into Zane’s killer uppercut. Damn jaw was a hell of a knockout point. 

Yara grabbed her pistol and aimed at Zane. “What are you doing?!”

Zane went for the gun and it went off, shooting him in the chest. Yara kept her finger in the trigger well and aimed at the other man. “John?”

“Drop the gun.” He nudged Abby with his foot. When he saw Ellie he scowled. The rumors about her were true. She wasn’t dead. He’d make sure she was though.

Ellie woke by feeling a few light slaps on her face. When she came too her wrists were bound to each other. Her ankles were bound as well. She looked up to see her least favorite person. So far he was passing David he was so bad.

“When I threw you into spores you should be dead. I killed you! But Nakita did as well.” He trailed off. He stuck her switchblade into the wall and shook his head.

“Ohhh you caused so much trouble. You, you!” His voice was shaking. “I thought I had no morals Demon. But you! Oh no. Killing a bunch of people with fire wasn’t bad enough…” He laughed but the scene was far from comical.

“John.” Ellie warned. But it was empty.

“Ohh, they don’t know?” He turned and pointed to Abby and Yara tied up to metal piping. “They don’t fucking know?! You bastard!”

Abby looked at Ellie. It just hit Ellie that Abby never met John. Ellie glanced at Yara. 

John turned to Abby. “I’m John, now I don’t know if Ellie here talks about me but I know you are two close, very fucking close. Keep secrets? Burning secrets? Ones that just want to combust at any moment?” He hummed.

Yara pleaded with him. “John, you don’t have to do this. We were close before-“

“Shut up!” He swallowed and turned to Ellie. “This one.” He marched up to her and kicked her in the face, knocking her onto her back. “This one!” He pinned her to the ground, his boot on her chest.

“She didn’t just kill people. No, she decided to burn a building and kill not just the men, not just the women, but the kids too. Tsk tsk tsk and here I thought I was fucked up but that was just cruel and fucking unusual!” He shouted and kicked Ellie before walking over to Yara.

“Leave her Alone!” Abby yelled.

“Why would I do that?” He knelt next to Yara and glanced at her arm. “Damn, you can’t be a one armed soldier.”

He grabbed a can of gasoline from nearby. “Might as well put it out of its misery. Maybe that demon will experience a fraction of loss the Seraphites felt.” He said in a singsong voice.

“God damnit John they had nothing to do with it!” Ellie yelled. “I did it without help!” 

He paused and looked at her. “As I recall it was them you were protecting by doing such heinous acts. I just didn’t know you had the siblings. Lily and Yara.” 

“Your AWOL. Are you even getting justice? Or is this just your sick form of entertainment?!” Ellie argued. At least Nakita owned up to enjoying causing pain and having a legit reason. 

“I’ve had enough!” He paused and took a breath. He was trying to be calm but he was no Nakita. Never has and never would be. “You, I’ve had enough bullshit out of you. Do you see where we are?”

He gestured to look out. The wall to the building was broken open. He grabbed her collar and pulled her to the edge. “Look down.”

She did and saw water. She looked back. She could swim, even if her arms and legs were bound. Plus marines used to do it in training, not that she ever went through boot camp. 

“I know what broke you.” Ellie didn’t say anything. She kept looking forward.

“I mean you were really convincing when you said you said everything you knew. To think you’d rat your own friends out to save yourself from drowning.” He sat on a cinder block. Wait there was rope on The cinder block.

“I want to burn you alive, like you did all those kids. But I know you’ll suffer more this way. So with a happy send off, goodbye Ellie Williams. Jacob is waiting!” He kicked the cinder block off the edge. Ellie quickly followed the rope to her legs.

“Wa-wa-wait! Gah!” Ellie fell 7 stories before plunging into the water below.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don’t know when I’d write in the changes to what Ellie wears. I just wished I did it earlier in the story, but that’s just how the cookie crumbles. 
> 
> Maybe if my computer ever wants to work I could add it in a previous chapter. It just seems like such a hassle for something I’m rectifying right now. It is a fanfic and I only write a few chapters in advance. Incase I get ill or have extra work.


	28. Uncomfortable Truths

John watched the splash and didn’t see her come up. He turned to the remaining two. Abby was thrashing like a wild animal. “Fuck you! I’ll fucking kill you, you fucking son of a bitch!” 

“Fuck me? Fuck you! I hold the cards! Me! I’m the one with the fucking dick! Shut the fuck up! I call the shots!” He was yelling so much his voice was strained so badly it could be heard. (He’d say that to Abby if she was a guy. Feminists plz don’t come after me. I know get woke is a trend)

“You fucking killed her!”

He stared at Abby. “And she killed 24 kids I think we're even. But to be honest I did more than kill her. My twin, before he was killed by her, did so many things.” He looked up at the ceiling and made two fists. 

He picked up a steel rod. “Broke her ribs,” He tapped her chest. “Broke her nose,” He nudged Abby’s face with the steel. “Beat her unconscious multiple times and burned that disgusting tattoo off and you know what?” He grinned in front of Abby looking over the rod. Like an inspector seeing any faults in it. “I'd do it all again, except I'd enjoy it even more.” A sickly gin shown on his face.

“Fuck you.” Was all she could say. The hate that seethed in her was unmeasurable. This wasn’t a man but a monster before her. One that took too much pleasure inflicting pain onto others.

“Don’t worry. You’ll get yours soon enough. But let me ask you this. Aren’t you curious how she knew I was AWOL? Or why I hated her so much? Hated, past tense.” He smirked at the last part. Besides he killed her, that was something he could smile at.

After killing hundreds of Seraphites Ellie became infamous. After surviving this long she became a challenge. But surviving a shot to the chest and spores only demons could breath? She was a fucking myth of something along those lines 

“Doesn’t matter! I’ll kill you when I’m free!” Abby hollered and pulled on the ropes holding her. God damn ropes wouldn’t budge!

“I’m sorry.” He paused and walked away. “I don’t like the way you’re lounging around!” He stood and threw a glass bottle out the broken window. 

“I was having the time of my life while you were kicking back doing god knows what!” He yelled to no one.

“Fucking she kills, she’s a fucking maniac! Killing fifty five people with a press of a button! You want to defend a serial killer?” He questioned. “You want to defend a dead person? Here, we can fish out her corpse together and, and you can defend it while I feed it to clickers! Huh? I’ll piss on her fucking corpse!” 

“I’m defending my friend! I’m loyal! Something you wouldn’t know!” She shouted back.

“I know loyalty! I was loyal to my brother!” He gripped the pipe. “Until she came along.”

“But if you’re so loyal.” He lined the pipe with Abby’s skull. “Die with your loyalty then!” He pulled back to swing it.

“John!” Yara yelled.

He turned to her. “You are a traitor, simple as that.”

“What happened? You and Nakita should-“

“Should what? Huh should what? Join the Wolves? You forgot they killed Nakita’s Fathers. They were my family too. All of these fucking animals will die.” He turned to Abby ready to kill her.

“But you were like them!” Yara tried to reason.

“And you were born a Seraphite yet you became a Wolf. People change, god knows Lily did!” He turned to Abby.

Minutes earlier Ellie pulled against the ropes but they wouldn’t budge. Fuck! If only she didn’t break when Nakita water boarded her. Nakita….

Ellie’s eyes shot open as she fidgeted with her belt. Finally she got the push dagger from it and awkwardly cut the ropes to her wrist. Then bent down and freed her ankles before swimming to the surface.

Ellie gasped for air as she came up. She looked around and found some ground she could climb onto. Fucking fuck! She never wanted to be down there ever again. 

How was it the one who fucked her up physically and mentally saved her life in an accident? Well the older woman did specify if she was captured to use it to escape. Ellie highly doubted this is what she meant.

She needed to get back up. She opened the door and sprinted up the stairs. On her way up she attracted the attention of some clickers. She didn’t have anything to fight them off with and they already saw her so she ran, but soon realized she could use it to her benefit. 

Like in the mall all this years ago, the cold was nipping at her exposed skin. She was scared but smart. She pinned infected against the living. Now she was gonna do it again.

The door was kicked open and a glass bottle shattered at John’s feet. Clickers came screeching and twitching in. John cursed but it only enticed the infected even more.

Abby and Yara froze. Staying completely silent as to not attract them. Ellie ran to them, quickly cutting them loose. 

“You!” John shouted as he killed a Clicker. Another lunged at him, pinning him to the wall. “Gah!” A clicker scratched at his face. “Hmmmm, ELLIE!” He hollered.

Abby and Yara got out of the room as quietly as possible so they wouldn’t attract any of the infected. Ellie wanted to stay and watch, to ensure his demise but couldn’t. She had more important matters to attend to. Ellie grabbed her switchblade and ran out.

Ellie shut the door and pulled a pipe from her bag and put it through the door handles. She turned to Abby who was staring at Ellie. 

“Oh my god, when he, Ellie he said you killed kids? I thought you died. How did you get free?”

“When where safe!” Ellie guided the way with her automatic shotgun. 

Finally they were outside and put a good deal of distance between them and John. “Ellie, I thought you drowned. Shit, You’re bleeding.”

It was just a little scuff from when John was kicking her. Must have opened up when they ran. “It’s nothing, really.”

“Here.” Abby pulled a clean rag from her bag and wiped the bit of blood from Ellie’s face. “How did you get out?”

Ellie pulled the push dagger from her belt. God she was lucky, she got out by the skin of her teeth on this one. 

“Where’d you get that?”

Ellie was silent. She could lie and say she found it. But if Abby asked about what John was saying. Fucking John. 

“Ellie you were with us virtually 24/7. What did he mean when you killed those people?” Abby asked.

There it was. The question to put the final nail in the coffin. Ellie exhaled and scrunched her eyebrows together. “Ellie, he said you killed 24 kids.”

Abby was looking at Ellie. “I didn’t know they were there.” She whispered. 

Abby took a step back. Ellie all but confirmed it. “So that black smoke Manny and I saw? We followed.”

Ellie was stiff but shaky. She nodded hesitantly. “Yes.” She whispered.

“What possessed you to do it?!” Abby knew Scars-Seraphites were mainly bad. But the two kids they got to know weren’t. What if one of those kids were like Lev or Yara? 

“I was told there were only going to be Elders.”

“Told?! Who told you? Fuck, you leave for one day and light a fucking grade school class on fire!” Abby yelled. She couldn’t help but imagine if it was Lev or Yara in there.

“You would’ve been dead if I didn’t!” Ellie yelled back.

Abby stopped dead in her tracks. “What?”

“I was tracking a deer after I escaped John when Nakita approached me. If I didn’t help her she’d have attacked the aquarium. Abby, she knew where we were staying!” Ellie explained.

“And you didn’t think to tell us? About John? How about running into Nakita? She killed my father, I think I have a right to know about her.” Abby spat out the words like venom. 

“I did my end, she did hers. No, I didn’t say anything because it already happened. All it would’ve done is work you up!” Ellie pointed to Abby with her chin.

“Now I’m even more pissed off!” She seethed at Ellie. “Shoulda said no. What if Lev was in there?” Abby said.

“He wasn’t. And you knew that.”

“What if he had left and gotten captured?” Abby asked.

“He wasn’t.” Ellie said through gritted teeth. “He was at the aquarium where everyone else would be dead if I didn’t detonate the explosives.” Ellie was so tempted to tell she did the right thing! It was her only option! Kids died but she didn’t know they were there. It happens. Did she really just think that? It happens? This isn’t normal. No it is normal. In this world at least.

Abby rubbed her face. “We coulda taken them.”

“I wasn’t gonna risk it. If they’re anything like her.” Ellie trailed off. Nakita was a force, just like her.

“So you’d burn a bunch of kids for us?” Abby asked.

“And If I was given a second chance at that moment I’d do it all over.” Ellie stated. Ellie realized she just admitted to willingly killing kids but it was the truth. For them, she would. Guess Nakita was right.

Abby just stared at Ellie. Both out of respect and shock. Abby knew Ellie would do it to save those she cared about but to hear it. Actually hear that she’d kill like that for them. It was both comforting and terrifying.

“Do you know why she asked you to do it?” Yara asked.

Ellie looked at her. “She said she cared for a few kids. One was being forced to marry so she ran away. If she ended them then maybe she could convince her to come back.” Ellie recalled.

“Oh.” It wasn’t a surprise oh. It was an I know why oh. 

“What do you mean Oh?” Abby asked skeptically.

“Nakita was the one to teach Lev how to hunt and fight. I couldn’t because I was chosen to fight the Wolves. He really liked her. He also liked the twins.” She said.

Ellie was extremely shocked. “John and Jacob?!” Ellie practically shouted. She could feel her arm burning. Not literally, those nerves were fried for good.

“Yes, but I see you don’t have the best relation with them.” Yara hung her head.

“Yeah, I uhh…”

“Did you kill Jacob?” Yara asked.

“I was locked in a basement.” Ellie was not going to apologize for killing him. Repeat not going to apologize. 

“They were inseparable. He was so much quieter.” Yara remembered.

“Seemed pretty unhinged if you ask me.” Abby said. “He was going to light you on fire. He tried to drown Ellie and was gonna beat me to death.”

Yara nodded. “I hope Lev can handle all this.”

“Yeah we got to get to the marina if we want to catch him.” Ellie pointed in the direction of it and led the way. She hated talking about this subject. 

“So you and Lev were close with them?” Abby asked.

“Yes, we were close with all of Nakita’s soldiers. Zane was one of them. I wonder how many deserted to join him. They were a close group.” Yara said.

“Why were they so close?” Abby looked as Yara explained.

“Mainly because they were outcasts. They weren’t born Seraphites. They came from the old world and those born into it saw them as less. She also brought in those nonconforming to Seraphite standards.” Yara sighed.

“So why were you and Lev close with them?”

“It just happened. I was out with Lev when I ran into her. She answered every question we had and from there it just happened.” Yara missed Nakita, but she kept it to herself. She knew Nakita would complete her mission no matter the cost, kinda like Ellie.

“You know what they do?” Abby glanced at Ellie who was leading the way.

“Nakita is a very protective person. She will do what’s best for those she cares about.” Yara explained to Abby.

“Including other methods?” Abby was trying to read Yara.

“Well, she's like Ellie.” 

Ellie pumped the brakes real fast. She turned and looked at Yara. “We're nothing alike.” 

“But you are.”

“I don’t do what she does!” Ellie yelled. Being a firsthand receiver of her work she knew she was not like her. The scars on her back could testify.

“But you killed the kids?” Yara asked.

“By her orders, and she had hostages.” Ellie defended. “I don’t take pleasure in doing any of what I do.” The adrenaline was something she’d miss but a minuscule price to pay to not see violence.

After all it’s not like she’d miss the killing and the gore right? When she hounded Maria to let her go out on patrols because she had more experience then some of the adults. But that was logical! She had more experience therefore she should go out. 

“But you both care about loved ones. You both have a will to survive. You both have done terrible things to survive and you both-“

“Will you drop it. You could compare me to anyone with a description like that and we’d be the same.” Ellie argued.

“Not everyone…. That was a compliment. Comparing you to her.” Yara said.

“Well stop.” They're nothing alike. Ellie told herself that.

“Ok.” Yara stopped.

As they were walking they heard shouting and followed it. They just couldn’t catch a break could they. 

“Fuck you! And you! And you! Especially you!” That voice kind of sounds familiar, but from where? Ellie knew it from somewhere. When she looked around the corner it clicked. Christine, or Chris as she was better known. 

Four Seraphites were there. Two were forcing her forwards with her hands bound behind her while two others led the way. All of them were men. 

“We know you helped her.” Said the one leading them. He was also the tallest.

“All you know is that I was near the smoke. That doesn’t prove a damn thing and you know it!” She yelled at him.

“Then why are the reports of the demon in the same area you were in?! You were supposed to be on the island at the time.” He countered.

“I was hunting her. Same as everyone else, and I was following Nakita’s orders.”

“Liar! Admit it. You helped her kill them. Your own people, and for what?” He asked her.

“I didn’t help her.”

“Then you hired her? Or was that your girlfriend? Trust me we’ll be going to the island and telling them all about you and her. She was always breaking rules and going against the elders but hiring her and sending her girlfriend? That’s a new kind of treacherous.” The man said.

“I don’t have a girlfriend. That would be against the rules.” Christine growled.

“Well we all know how well you follow rules.” One of the men holding her said.

Yara looked at the others. “We have to help her.”

Abby couldn’t say no to her, even if she wanted to leave the Seraphite. Yara has already been hunted by her old group and her brother ran away. She lost an arm and her mother wasn’t even going to support her. She needed this. Besides it didn’t look like she was on good terms with the other Seraphites.

Ellie had her bow in her hand. She couldn’t risk the shotgun. She did really want to leave everyone associated with Nakita to die. But Yara and Lev have proven that not everyone was the same. Even if they were under the same name. Also Chris did save her before. 

Abby pointed to the left one holding her and Ellie took the right one holding her. They looked at each other and nodded. Abby pulled the trigger and the bolt flew through the air. Ellie released the arrow at the same time. 

The two holding her fell and she jumped to the side. Abby had her gun out and downed the others. Chris looked up to see someone she highly doubted seeing. 

“Good to see you’re still kicking.” 

Yara ran behind her and undid her restraints. “Yara! Last time I saw you you were getting drafted. Kick everyone’s asses in training?” 

“You and Nakita trained me before I was forced to fight. You would have been proud.” She smiled.

Chris looked at her arm. “Infected get you?”

“Hammer. Compartment syndrome.” She said.

“Fuck me. That’s bad. But at least you’re here. Why are you out here with them?” She gestured to Ellie and Abby who were looking at each other.

“Lev’s going to the island. He wants to save our mother.” 

Chris paused and thought long and hard for a moment. Lev. Lily. Lily now Lev? “Alright....”

“Can you help?” Yara pleaded.

Ellie really did appreciate the save earlier but she wasn’t ready to bring her along. Save her and now they were even, not buddies. 

“Unfortunately no, I’m dealing with other Seraphites and John’s defectors. I’ll help when I’m no longer needed here.” She gave Yara a hug. 

“Lev’s gonna be so mad I got a hug from you.” Yara mumbled into her shoulder.

“You find her, Him!” Chris cleared her throat. “Him… I’ll make sure you weren’t followed.” Chris Picked up her gun and turned to the dead enemy.

  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Halloween! That is if you read this around Halloween. Maybe you’ll read it during the summer or Christmas. Who knows.


	29. Hatred On The Backburner

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No beta read on this one. I’m sick as shit and feel like it too. But I want to update.

They grabbed the boat tied to the dock. Ellie helped Yara into the boat as Abby got it started. It was actually a decent boat with an outboard. A sunbird to be precise.

“I hope Lev is ok.”

Ellie looked at Yara. “If he was trained by Nakita he’s fine.”

Yara nodded. Abby got it started. Yara was on the left side of the boat and Ellie on the right. The islands detail was coming into view.

“Over on the other side of the island. There is a blind spot behind the island.” Yara pointed to the end of the island. Abby drove to it.

“You sure it’s a blind spot?” Ellie asked her.

“Yes.”

They jumped out in waist high water and tied the boat to a tree near the water. Last thing they needed was to get the thing stuck in the sand.

“Through here.” Yara held some shrubbery back. 

Abby and Ellie walked through, then held the bush back for Yara. Yara dudes and moved though, pushing her amputated arm through first.

Ellie and Abby had to follow Yara which was new. Normally Abby or Ellie would be at the head. Ellie gripped her bow and arrow. 

She knew this was a prime condition to be ambushed. It was raining and windy so they couldn’t hear or see well and it was getting dark. They should’ve been here earlier but John got the jump in them.

She wondered if he was dead. She doubted it. 

“Is there going to be trouble?” Abby asked.

“No, the backroads are almost always clear.” Yara said.

Ellie didn’t loosen the grip on the bow. She couldn’t let her guard down. She’d done it enough times and it always ended badly. Now if she screwed up Yara and Abby could take the fall as well. Almost did. 

It was her only choice. She saved her friends. But probably destroyed countless lives. 

Ellie climbed a ladder behind Abby. She saw a few bodies hanging from faded highway signs. By now she was used to it. It was a common site in Seattle. 

“This way.” Yara ran in a direction.

Abby followed with her crossbow in hand. Ellie glanced back to see if she was followed, then continued into the woods. 

Alarms went off causing the three to freeze. “The island, it’s under attack.”

Abby and Ellie looked at each other. Both asking each other the same questions. Were they ready to go through their friends and possible family if the situation demanded it? 

Ellie looked at the lights in the distance. “Let’s Fine Lev.”

They were approaching the village. It was amazing, Ellie and Abby had to admit it. The Seraphites clearly knew their way around town design. Kinda like medieval times.

They dropped to the ground as others walked by. They exchanged looks before pushing on. Abby and Ellie decided not to kill if they could help it, for Yara. Just looking at each other and they knew what they were thinking.

Yara guided them to a house and opened the door. A woman was dead with a cut throat. “Lev?” Yara looked for him.

Abby and Ellie entered. Ellie looked around. There was a broken clay pot on the ground. The table was knocked off center of the room. Ellie saw something reflect and catch her eye.

She knelt down and picked it up. It was bullet casing. “Does your mother use guns?”

“No, she would never go against the elders. She’s not a soldier.” Yara answered.

Ellie held up the bullet casing. Abby glanced at the body. “Would explain why her throat was cut, unless Lev did it.”

“Where are you Lev?” Yara asked.

“We’ll find him.” Abby put a hand on her shoulder. More noises were heard from the outside. Yara ran some conveniently empty crates big enough to hide them. To be fair they doubled as seats so they had to be somewhat big.

Two men burst through the door. “Shit. Look around.” The taller of the two said. “Maybe we can find her.”

“Him.”

“What?!”

“I think he prefers him.” The shorter said.

“I don’t care if this human identifies as a fucking alien. I knew it was gonna end up like this!” He told his buddy.

The taller pointed out of the house. “Shoulda hired that Wolf. She'd found em and brought em home. Did the marriage in!”

The shorter picked up the casing. “See! You were more right then you thought.”

“Fucking John!” The taller shouted and flipped over a stool. “Just when we think we know he’s ahead of us!” 

“Hey, easy Mike.” The shorter comforted the taller by pulling him into a side hug. “We'll find them and save them from John. Ok?”

“Yeah, ok Rob. Just, tell Chris we got nothing. She should be back.” Said Mike.

The name caught Ellie’s attention, more so then just hiding in a crate from them was. She felt Yara stiffen. 

“If we find the Demon, do you think she’d help?” Mike asked. “I mean she helped Nakita.”

“Because she had her friends hostage. I don’t think we have anything but our heads to offer her.” Rob informed. “Let’s just find Lev. I think it’s Lev.”

Yara was looking at Ellie. Why look at her? She wasn’t the one calling the shots. Yara was the one showing them around the island.

“You sure?” She whispered.

Yara nodded. “Please. They’re good people.”

Ellie nodded and stood, pushing the lit off. The men stumbled back. Clearly they weren’t expecting her to come out like a fucking magician. If they knew what one was.

“You heard everything?” Rob asked.

“Yeah, you’re looking for Lev. So are we.” Ellie said. The things she’d do for this kid. 

Abby and Yara were behind her. “Yara.” Mike breathed. He went over and pulled her into a hug. “The fuck you been? Disappear off the face of the earth!”

Rob stood further back. “There’s a man that knows where John is but he refuses to talk.” 

Yara looked at the shorter standing there awkwardly. They were never close. “We have him in an attic.”

Then walked out. “Are we doing this?” Abby asked.

Ellie sighed. “Yeah, let’s go.”

Ellie led the way with her gun out. She scanned the surroundings. It was dark and the sounds of war were off in the distance. She hoped her friends were doing better then they were doing.

“It’s us. 3312. Plus three.” Rob said through a door.

The door opened and shouts could be heard. “Not telling you anything you cunt! Lily is gone!”

Ellie walked up the stairs to see a man tied down with her fourth least favorite person in no particular order. Nakita. 

She turned to see Yara and Ellie. The third was already trying to kill her.

“You!” Abby lunges at her but Rob, Mike and the nameless man from downstairs grabbed her, holding her back. 

“Fucking kill you!” 

“Stop!” Rob yelled.

“Let us explain.” Mike tried to calm her down. 

Abby only got more pissed off and tried fighting harder. The man tied down started laughing even more. “You are all a sad bunch! No wonder Lily ran away! Lily the little girl ran away from her dysfunctional family.”

“Abby!” Ellie yelled. 

Like getting hit with a moose tranquilizer Abby’s muscles relaxed. “Abby, focus on finding Lev.”

“I think you mean Lily, Demon. She’s with John.” He told her.

Ellie turned to him. “Where’s John?”

“Like I would tell you. I’ll tell you the same thing I told her.” He jerked his head to Nakita. “Piss off!”

Ellie growled and backed off, scanning the room. “Oh this is rich! Just rich! You were kept in a basement not too long ago! Now you two are gonna try and break me?!”

He looked at the others. “Yeah your men and the Demon’s dysfunctional people! Miss hulk and one arm!” 

“The fuck you say?” Ellie asked.

“You heard me!” 

Nakita sighed. “We don’t have time for this. Either get a swing in or leave. I need to find him.” 

“I thought the Demon had thicker skin! After all you burned so many fucking innocent you-Hmm.” 

Nakita shoved a rag in his mouth. “What do you say?”

“Days ago, when we talked. It was Lev you were worried about.” Ellie said.

Nakita nodded. Ellie sighed and nodded. “Ok, ok.”

Ellie scanned the area again. Her eyes landing on an old world item. She glanced at Abby. “Ellie! What are you doing?! She killed my father and tortured you.”

“I know.” If she wanted Lev then she’d have to put it behind her. For now at least. So would Abby. “But if you want Lev this is it.”

“Ellie! But…” Abby looked away. “I can’t just watch you working with…”

“Then don’t. We’ll be down in a bit.” Ellie told Abby.

“Ellie you can’t be-“

“Go down stairs Abby!” Ellie ordered. She felt no remorse yelling at her. This was the only way they were finding him and bringing him home. Lev was not Nakita. She was proving how much she cared for him by working with her. 

“Fine.” Abby grumbled. “Have fun with your playmate!” 

She stormed out with Yara following. It was fucking insanity. Were they really working with Nakita. How the hell was Ellie so calm dealing with the devil? 

**Back up stairs.**

“Heh, you’re not The Demon. You’re the goddamn devil!” The man shouted. Nakita shoved the cloth in his mouth again.

Ellie walked over to the corner of the room, grabbing the old world item. Ellie was not a good person by any stretch but the blood spilled in this room would prevent Lev’s blood from being spilled in the near future. This would be a good thing. Saving Lev is a good thing.

She turned to him and Nakita took a large step back. “Glad you could be reasoned with, Demon.”

“It’s Ellie.”

“Ellie. So glad you could be reasoned with.” Nakita repeated.

Ellie looked at the target. “Where is John?”

The man shook his head. Ellie raised her choice weapon. She would work her way from the bottom up. Starting at the knees. Nakita was watching with a grin behind Ellie. 

“Didn’t know you played golf.” 

“I don’t.” Then she brought the nine iron down.

Abby could hear noises. Blunt instrumental bashing to be precise. She knew what it sounded like. How was it that Ellie was ok with this? Better question was why did she leave Ellie up there with Nakita alone?

Abby got up and went to the stairs. “Hey, you really want to go?” Rob asked.

“Out of the way.” She growled. Towering over him.

“I just don’t want you to see anything. You might not want-“

“Don’t lecture me on what I want to see!” Abby shoved him back. Yara put her hand on Abby. 

“Abby.”

“No! Fuck. Ellie is…”

“She’s concerned about Lev.” Yara said.

“You think I’m not? I’m worried too!” Abby jabbed a finger into her own chest. “I care about him!”

Yara looked down. “Alright.”

Abby didn’t mean to snap but fuck it she was heading up! She yanked the door open to see Ellie towering over a bloodied and beaten man. A golf club in hand. 

The chair was tipped over and she could see him twitching. “Ellie.” She turned to a grinning Nakita. “The hell you made her do!” She stomped over to the lanky woman.

“Nothing! Ellie did it all on her own.”

“Think you’re so fucking tall and mighty? You killed my father, you piece of shit!” She pulled her gun out and aimed it at Nakita.

Nakita wasn’t fazed one bit. “Go on, pull the trigger. I’m a shitty person. But I couldn’t care less who the man was to you. I killed a lot. So have you.” 

Abby pulled the hammer back. “Hell I’ll give you my gun to kill me with if you can answer me this one question. The last person you killed. Who was he or she?”

“The fuck does it matter!?”

“Hey Ellie. Can you tell me any of the kids' names you so swiftly took out?” She turned to Abby. “We’re all shitty people waiting to dance with the grim reaper. But before I go I’d like to ensure Lil-Lev is alright. Then I’ll go to hell and save you both spots because I know I’ll see you there.” 

Abby felt the trigger with the tip of her finger. Nakita rested the barrel of the gun against her forehead. “At least Ellie killed to protect you. You’re just doing for the hell of it.”

If Abby pulled the trigger not only would it be out of revenge but it would also put them at a disadvantage considering they’d have to fight their way out and ruin any possible good terms they had. 

Abby let her gun fall. But she didn’t take her eyes off of her. “Fine.” Abby spat. Only for Lev and no other reason.

“Good, they’re in the heart of the island. Where the elders and kids are being kept. Security should be low. Everyone is fighting on the front lines.” Nakita said.

“So we just team up with you?” Abby growled. 

“Once our common interest is met we can decide what to do next.” Nakita pulled out a map of the island. “Third building, it’s the biggest there.”

Ellie looked at it. “This is the closed point.” She pointed to a line that represented a wall.

“The entrance is here. We can take out the lookouts and sneak in. There will be two lookouts. You can still use a bow, correct?” She asked Ellie.

“Yeah, I can. But I won't be able to take them both out.” 

“That’s fine, Abby can use her crossbow.” Nakita thought for a moment but Abby interrupted it.

“What about these three?” She pointed to the Seraphites behind her.

“Those three will be returning to the front lines. We are at war and your people are invading the island.” She pointed to the door and the three ran out.

Nakita grabbed the map and started out the door. “We’re burning moon light.”

Abby trailed behind. Ellie slowed her pace to match Abby. Yara went faster to walk with the woman leading them.

“Abby, how are you holding up?”

“How am I holding up? Ellie, she is a monster.”

“A monster with a common interest. I don’t like this anymore than you do but she’s the only one that knows where Lev is being held.” Ellie explained.

“Yeah, What is the plan when we have Lev?”

“I don’t know.”

“You’re now seriously thinking of letting her walk free. Are you? Think of what she did.” Abby argued.

“I know.” Ellie knew the woman was no saint. Neither was she. How long till someone becomes an Abby to her Nakita? “Let’s focus on Lev.”

In the front Yara was with Nakita. “You had us hostage so Ellie would kill the elders?” 

“Yes.”

“Why? I missed you so much and the first thing I hear is that. After John and Zane try to kill us.” Yara recalled.

“Things are messy. John has gone AWOL and took some of my men with him. To hunt Ellie down.” Nakita sighed. “After I gave her temporary immunity he snapped. She did kill Jacob.”

Yara looked down. “Why did you even have her?”

“I needed information. Where they would attack next. So I knew where you shouldn’t be! I did horrible things but I don’t regret it.” She said.

“You never apologized?” Yara asked.

“Why should I? Ellie knows why I did it. Do you?”

“I know but it doesn’t change what happened.” Yara said.

“Exactly. It’s done. Now we’re working to save your sibling. Your sibling is the reason I hired Ellie. I was hoping once those elders were disposed of then he’d come back. But it wasn’t it, was it?” The last bit was rhetorical. She was now calling him he. 

“You always resort to violence.” Yara chided.

“I am a soldier. I will act like one.”

“That doesn’t mean you can’t think of a different way to solve a problem.”

Nakita sighed. “Anyone else says that to me and I’d have killed them.”

“You wouldn’t do that to me, or Lev, or-“

“Don’t. Let’s just find your… brother.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I use a bunch of random names but would you prefer one Scar, two Scar, Red Scar, Blue Scar. Is that better? 
> 
> What’s the elections looking like outside the states? Perhaps Germany. But if you want to give your opinions even if you’re not from Germany go ahead.


	30. Oh Hell

Nakita led them to the wall. There were two young adults, teens keeping watch. Nakita pointed to them and Ellie grabbed her bow and arrow. Abby had her crossbow out.

They looked at each other and nodded. The guards both simultaneously hit the wood they were standing on. No one heard a thing and they snuck right through the entrance. They hugged the left side of the wall.

They could seek kids walking by and women as well. A few soldiers were on the top of the wall. They could still hear explosions in the far off and gunshots as well. A reminder of what was happening.

“There.” Nakita pointed to the large building three stories tall. Wood at and around the base of it. Sharpened and pointing to the stars. 

Ellie moved forward and got to the base of it. She looked at Nakita. “Entrance is in the front.”

Two people were at the entrance. Wearing grey coats with guns in hand. Nakita moves forward and gestured for Abby to get the closer one.

Taking orders from her was sickening. But she did it. She waited for the other woman to grab the furthest man. Then Abby grabbed the other and snapped his neck. She watched Nakita drag the body behind a bush and she did that.

“Clear. Come.” Nakita walked in front of the building. She pushed open the door, it creaked causing her to curse and she headed up the stairs. She had a revolver in hand. 

Ellie followed with her AA-12 and Abby with her rifle. Yara follows behind them with a pistol Abby had given her.

Nakita got to the top and pushed open the final door and entered with her gun raised. Ellie followed with hers and Abby was right there with her. 

What they saw was something they never expected. Lev was looking out a window. No one else was here. “Where’s John?” Nakita asked.

“Nakita!” He ran to hug her. She had to take a knee so she was at his level. She was tall compared to a man’s height. 

“You’re safe!” Lev said.

“I am but where is John?”

“He said he would be back. He saved me. Mother… she tried to kill me. I just wanted her to stop. But he, he saved me but he-“

“We can talk later. We need to leave!” Nakita stood and went to pull him but he jerked his arm from her.

“I’m not leaving without John!”

Yara pushes past the others. “A lot has changed. John isn’t himself anymore. We need to go.”

“No! He is family. Even if he’s not blood. You taught us that.” He looked at Nakita. “He’s your nephew.”

“Lev, right? Lev I don’t know what he’s planning or what he told you but we need to leave.” 

The door shut. “You don’t know what I’m planning?”

Three others were in with him. He put something on the door. Ellie immediately recognized it. She looked at him. “It won’t go off, as long as the door isn’t opened.”

“What do you want?” Nakita kept her gaze on him.

“You should stop protecting the enemy. Along with the apostates.” He gestured to Yara and Lev.

Ellie went to raise her gun but the others aimed at her, taking her gun from her and throwing it to the ground. John strutted over to her and jabbed her with his index finger. “I’ll deal with the unkillable freak show later.” He pushed off her and then pointed at the three in front of him. “But family first.”

He turned to them like a drunk man would when his name was called. He walked over to Nakita in front of Yara and Lev. Just like that his obsession with killing her was postponed. Family first.

He went to Nakita then backed off. “I’m not so stupid to risk fighting you. After all you were raised by a marine and a police officer. Wasn’t your uncle a drill sergeant?” 

“I’ll just start with Yara.” He jerked his body in the direction of her but stopped. But it was enough to cause Nakita to jump in front of him. Abby took a step forward but the barrel of a rifle was pressed against her back. When Ellie moved a shotgun was shoved against her jaw.

“I’m doing what you are too weak to do.” He said to Nakita. His breath was shaky. “That’s why you fear me.”

“I don’t fear you.” She kept eye contact with him. “I never have and never will.”

“But you will!” He screamed at her. “I’ve passed you at everything! I captured her.” He pointed to Ellie. “I’ve captured two apostates and a traitor to the Seraphite community. I even have a Wolf so don’t tell me I’m not worthy of your fear! I am fear!”

His breathing was ragged and his eyes were held wide open. If one focused in the finer points of him it could be observed he was shaking.

Nakita sighed. “I love you. That’s why I’m not afraid of you. I’m… I'm just disappointed in you.” Nakita held her breath. She was definitely hitting the right notes.

John’s eyes widened even more and he reached out with both hands. He was going to strangle the life out of her. See the fear in her eyes!

Ellie took a step forward shaking him from his mental lock on the woman in front of him. “As I said you’ll get yours. For all you’ve done.” He strutted back to Ellie. 

“You’re gonna kill us no matter what we do.” Ellie said.

“Yep. This time though. Stay dead!” He went to grab her but Ellie turned and dodged him completely. Then grabbed the barrel of the shotgun at her jaw and pulled it past her and decked the man. She turned to John who was already tackling her. 

Nakita lunged at John but the gun that was at Abby’s back shot at Nakita getting her in the shoulder. It slowed her and the one that was holding Ellie at gunpoint started fighting her. Luckily adrenaline kept Nakita going.

Abby turned and wrestled the man for the hunting rifle. But the man quickly kicked her leg out and was on top of her but Yara brought a hammer to his head repeatedly.

Lev raced to Nakita’s aid, swinging his bow at the man’s face. It caused him to stumble enough for her to get her footing and grab her knife. She sunk it into his throat. 

Ellie was stuck in a front bearhug by John. “If I die I’ll take you with me!” 

He was going for the explosive on the door but her arms were pinned. She fought hard against him but he was a sheer mountain. “Don’t!”

“I’m doing it you Demon! Baptism by fire!”

Ellie couldn’t let him detonate it. He was looking up at it. She knew what she had to know. He kept calling her Demon. If she was considered an infected then she’d fucking act like one. 

She turned her head and sunk her teeth into his throat. She let out a harsh growl as she bit down harder. He tried pulling away but she pushed up as he pulled away and re-grabbed him with her teeth. Blood was spilling into her but she couldn’t care less. Survival was the only thing in her mind.

She finally yanked her head away. Taking a large chunk of flesh with her. She put it out and finally managed to shove him off. She got up to see everybody looking at her. 

She looked at John’s twitching body. His hand twitches with something in his grasp. It was a detonator. “Shit, jump!” 

The others saw it and it was pulled. There was a speeding up beeping noise. Abby jumped out with Yara on her heels. 

“John.” Lev breathed. It was hard to process everything.

“Come on kid!” Nakita yelled at him.

“But-“ He was frozen in place.

She grabbed him and threw him out the window. She went to jump but the explosion went off just as she did. Causing her to lose her footing.

The building’s top floor blew up and Nakita landed on the one place she did not want to land.

Ellie pushed herself off the ground as screams of kids were heard. It was a harsh landing. Abby was in front of her, blood running down her face and Yara next to her, knocked out but breathing.

Ellie stood and saw some kids had seen her and screamed and ran. She wiped the blood from her chin and turned to look at someone else.

Nakita wasn’t lucky. She landed on a sharpened piece of wood pointing straight up. Ellie hobbled over to her. 

“We’ve got Lev. Let’s get out of here.” Abby was helping Yara up. Lev already made his way to them from where he fell.

Ellie was going to turn away but a cough got her attention. “D-don’t. End me.” 

“She deserves this.” Abby mumbled.

“Nakita!” Lev rushed to her. “We can help her! Right? Right?!”

Ellie looked at her. She remembered being in this position. Joel survived by the skin of his teeth. He survived because of luck. Luck that his spine wasn’t hit. Luck that Ellie didn’t give up, luck that she found medical supplies and traded for antibiotics. That she was such a fighter. He was just lucky.

Here there was nothing to save her. That was if she was even gonna help Nakita.

“Leave her.” Abby said.

“Please. Don’t leave her like this.” Lev pleaded.

Ellie swallowed her saliva and looked at her gun. Then at Abby. She made her choice.

Ellie walked up to Nakita and pulled the slide back, making sure a bullet was in the chamber. “Any last words?”

She coughed and looked in the direction of Lev and Yara. It was upside down for her.She glanced back up at Ellie. “Look after them?”

Ellie nodded and raised her gun. Nakita looked Ellie in the eye and just stared. 

*Bang*

Ellie lowered the gun and then heard a scream. There was a boy staring at them. He ran off and started yelling about intruders.

They really kicked the hornet's nest. “We can leave the way we came.” Abby said.

Two Seraphites ran to them and shot but Ellie and Abby were faster, raising their guns and gunning them down. There was no going back. They were in the thick of it!

Ellie ran to the exit with the others on her heels. She shot down anyone coming within shooting distance. One person tackled her and she already had a switchblade in his neck. No one would stop them. 

He was just a boy. She watched the life fade from his eyes. She got up and continued to push forward. “Through here!”

Ellie watched the others go through and she covered their retreat by unloading the drum magazine into the Seraphites chasing them with weapons. 

She turned and followed, reloading her gun as she went. She only had one more magazine and this was it. She didn’t have time to load her Magazine with shells. Not that she even had enough shells.

“She’s dead.” Ellie whispered as she caught up to Abby.

“Showed her more mercy than I could.” Abby told her as they jogged away from the place. Now out of immediate danger.

“Yeah.” She may not have liked Nakita but she wasn’t gonna leave her like that either. She remembered Joel in those moments. Nakita had to be someone’s Joel. She was in fact. She was Lev’s. “Couldn’t leave her like that. Just saw Joel back there.”

Abby hummed. Just glad it was over.

Ellie glanced back to Lev. He seemed kinda traumatized. Just like her and the cannibals. Guess fourteen was the age of becoming an official survivor. She slowed to be near his side. “How are you holding up?”

He wiped the tears from his eyes. “You ripped John’s throat out and shot Nakita.” He stated.

“Yeah.” Ellie sighed.

“You still have blood on your mouth.” A tired voice said. Ellie wiped her mouth. She could do nothing about the copious amounts of blood already absorbed into her shirt. 

“So where are we going? Yara?” 

“We can go to the docks for a boat. It’s a few miles from here. We could go back to the one we came in on but that’s even farther. Also we came here when it was light out.” Yara added.

Abby nodded. “Too good to be just a few miles what’s the downside?”

“That’s where the main battle is being fought.” 

Ellie and Abby were tired. Yeah Yara and Lev were as well but Abby didn’t have any part in Seraphite business. At least Ellie kinda did. She had Seraphite blood drippings from her chin to prove it.

“So what? We go through 'em?” Abby asked.

“We can go through the forest back the way we came. You can lead us right?” Ellie looked at Yara.

“I don’t know. I never really traveled that part of the island. It is night time now.” Yara admitted.

Ellie rubbed her face. Effectively smearing the remaining blood around. “We go to the docks. If there’s no boat we circle around the island.”

Abby nodded. “Sounds good.” She looked at Lev and Yara. They had no complaints about the plan. So they headed to the main area of conflict.

As they walked though the area the buildings were on fire. The whole place was bathed in flames. It took all of Abby and Ellie’s will power to convince themselves they weren’t in hell. Yara and Lev probably didn’t know that adaptation of hell. Maybe they did? 

Gunshots were heard to their left and a WLF member ran out only to have an arrow shot into his back. The Seraphite saw them but Lev was quicker, releasing an arrow into their chest.

Screaming was heard everywhere. That’s all they could hear. Smoke was everywhere, clouding their vision drifting off into the air. Lev and Yara could only watch as their home went up in flames.

A woman ran out and got an arrow to the thigh. She let out a yell of pain. Why did it sound so familiar? Because it was Nora!

Ellie and Abby ran to fight the Seraphite attacking her but Owen hit him across the face with a rock and bludgeoned him to death with it.

Manny and Mel caught up with them. “What are you guys doing here?!” Abby asked.

“Isaac put Nora on the front lines anyways. We were coming to get her.” Manny explained.

Ellie looked down. The arrow went through her thigh. “Break off the end and pull it out.” 

“No! I don’t know if Gah,” she shifted her weight. “If it hit my femoral artery or not. I’ll bleed out if it did and we pull it out. If I can get back to the stadium Mel can remove it. Get to the aquarium.” She corrected herself.

“Get down.” Mel pointed to two Seraphites walking a few buildings down. 

“I’ll take care of it.” Ellie said. “Just take care of that.” She pointed to Nora’s leg. 

She silently walked to them. Pulling out her switchblade and getting ready to kill them. She threw rock off in the other direction so as to distract them.

Then grabbed the one closest to her and stabbed him in the throat. She dropped the body and quickly advanced to the next guy. Just slitting his throat pushing him off to the side. She needed to regroup with the others.

Quickly Ellie saw what was happening and jumped behind a bush. Isaac looked at the bush, then back at the Saltlake crew he had at gunpoint. Either because he wasn’t expecting someone to be in the bush or he thought it was a dead body he ignored it. 

“So this is where the treasonous crew is. Where’s your plus one?” He asked as he looked back at the other men and women he brought with him.

“Why are you with those Scars?” 

Abby looked at Yara and Lev. “They’re only kids. You don’t have to do this.”

“Move aside. They have to be dealt with.” He raised his gun.

“We’re not going anywhere.” Abby said. 

Owen put a hand on her shoulder, unmoving. Manny just stood there. Nora held her ground, even though she couldn’t run if she wanted too. Mel didn’t move either.

“I will shoot.” Isaac told them.

“Well we’re not moving.” Abby insisted.

“One.” Isaac lifted the gun just as Ellie pulled her AA-12 out.

“Two.” Isaac pulled the hammer back. Ellie took her safety off her gun.

“Three.” He raised the gun. Ellie unloaded her final magazine out onto her former alliances' people and its leader. She jumped out of the bush and checked on them.

“Ellie. You saved us. You were in the bush?” Owen was looking at the dinky thing.

“Yeah, watch out!” A WLF member ran out of nowhere and hit Manny in the ribs with a bat. He got another hit in before Owen beat his head in.

A gunshot went off and Owen fell to his knee. A bullet went through his lower leg, luckily it missed anything vital. “We’re too exposed.” Abby said.

They hid in between two buildings. “Broke a few ribs.You’re father won’t be happy.” Nora chuckled.

“Well it’s my ribs, not his. What’s the plan?” He looked at the others.

“We’re going to the dock to find a boat. If there’s not one we circle around to the one we came in on.” Abby explained.

“How far is the dock?” Owen asked.

“Not far. Down the path and at the water.” Yara said.

“Found em!” A Seraphite hollered as he raised his gun at them. A shovel connected with the back of his head and he fell like a sack of potatoes.

Ellie recognized that crooked nose and missing eye. “Chris?!”

“Following them when it went down.” She pointed to the others. “What the hell did you do?! Everyone is after you.” She was looking at Ellie.

“No time to explain. Can you get us to the docks?” She asked him.

“You are so lucky Nakita’s orders are still in effect for us to help you. Also I think I enjoy being able to say I’m helping The Demon.” Chris admitted.

“She’s dead.” Lev told him.

She stopped in her tracks. “John do that?” Her voice was hollow.

Lev nodded. Chris looked at Ellie. “He’s dead now right? She didn’t die for nothing. He’s dead. Right?”

“Yeah he’s dead.” 

“Are you sure?” 

“I ripped his throat out with my teeth and his body was in the building that had explosives in it. He’s dead.” Ellie said.

“Ok, ok. Yeah I can get you to the docks. But are you sure he’s dead.” 

“He’s dead. Why are you questioning it.” Ellie asked.

“Because I was told multiple times you were killed and here you are. Walking amongst the living.” She told her.

“I’m not planning on dying.” She said.

“I can see.” She looked at the others staring at her. Clearly they didn’t know they had an interaction beforehand.

“So she’s also gone?”

“Yes he’s gone.” Then it processed that Chris said she. “Yeah she’s gone.”

“How?” 

“How?” Elk asked.

“How’d she die?” Chris clarified.

“Oh,” That would be interesting to say the least. “She wasn’t able to clear wooden piles in the ground and got impaled.”

Even if Chris didn’t want to show it hurt to hear it did. “Did you leave her like that?”

“No, I shot her.” Ellie hoped that wouldn’t break Chris. She did look ready to bend that shovel into a pretzel.

Chris’s shoulders slumped. “Thanks.” She murmured. “For showing mercy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got out of the hospital today! When I said I felt like shit I meant it. Went to one hospital Friday. Then they shipped me to another one that same night. Stayed till Sunday. At least I got an hour ambulance ride at like midnight. Traffic's great, no cars on the road.


	31. Ghosts On The Beach

“Who are you?” Owen asked.

“Christine, or Chris. Here to help us all you need to know. Got her.” Shr pointed to Nora. Nora looked at Ellie for confirmation that she wasn’t gonna kill them.

“It's fine.” This was definitely not the oddest of things to happen tonight. But it was still a turn of events.

Chris lifted Nora. Abby let Owen lean on her. Manny was gripping his ribs but able to walk. They headed to the docks down the path. 

A few Wolves ran after them. Ellie and Lev shot arrows at them. Downing two out of the three of them. Abby shot her gun and killed the third man. 

“Why are they after you guys?” Chris asked them.

“This one killed the leader.” Abby gestured to Ellie. 

She glanced at her. “Wow. War just follows you.” She mumbled.

Ellie didn’t Have the strength to correct her. She just pushed on and went to the docks. “Shit!”

The boats there were all destroyed. Manny grunted in pain. “Isaac must have ordered them to be destroyed. So they couldn’t escape.”

“Alright we circle around the long way and get to the boat we came on.” Abby said. 

Ellie nodded. “Watch out!” She tackled Abby as arrows flew overhead. Abby rolled onto her stomach and pulled out her rifle shooting at the Seraphites atop the hill. Chris raised her gun and fired as well. Until the four bodies fell to the ground.

Abby helped Owen up and he continued to lean on her.

“They just keep coming.” Mel stated.

Ellie looked into the darkness in the direction of the boat. Then at the war zone in the opposite direction. She looked at Abby and sighed. Abby nodded knowing what she was saying.

“Ellie and I can hold off any reinforcements. You guys get to the boat.”

“What?! No, I’m staying. I can fight.” Lev said.

“No Lev. You need to go with them. In case they run into trouble.” 

“But-“

“Go, protect your sister.” Ellie said, trying to get him to go.

Owen shook his head. “We’re not just leaving you two to die here!”

“You’re not. Chris will come back after you guys get dropped off at the aquarium.” Ellie said. Her actual belief of her coming back was a coin toss. Only so much a girl would do for nothing.

“El, Abs, are you hearing yourselves? We can fight.” Manny offered.

“Your ribs are broken. Owen’s leg is shot and Nora has an arrow in her thigh.” Abby listed. 

“I can fight.” Yara said.

“But you’re missing an arm. Yara go with them. Please.” Abby pleaded.

“You’ll die here.”

“No, we’ll be fine.” Abby said. “Now go. The sooner you leave the sooner you can come pick us up.”

Manny cured looked at them. “You better be alive.”

“We will, now go.” 

Manny slowly turned and started walking. The others said good luck getting ready to depart. Ellie walked to Chris. “Make sure they’re safe, or I’ll hunt you down myself.”

She nodded and headed off with the others. 

Abby and Ellie got to work. “Here.” Abby handed Ellie her bullets for her revolver. Ellie handed Abby a magazine for the 9mm she used. They preferred different types of pistols. Well Ellie was more comfortable with the revolver. Abby was used to 9mm. 

Ellie gave Abby a hammer she’d grabbed a while back. Abby handed her a few shells for her shotgun. Loading a magazine up she had 10 shells in it. A third of its capacity.

Abby handed her two arrows. Ellie put them in her bag and gave Abby a few rounds for her rifle. Abby loaded her rifle and wiped the muck from her rifle’s optical site she put on it.

“You ready?” Abby asked.

Ellie looked up to hear yelling. Others shouted that they were seen heading down to the docks. That they were wounded and trying to flee. 

Ellie took a deep breath and let go. “I’m ready.”

Abby nodded. “We can take the corners of the beach. When they’re here,” Abby pointed to the center of the beach.

“We shoot.” Ellie finished. 

“Over here!”

Abby and Ellie ran in opposite directions, diving into cover. For Abby it was in mud and sand with leaves on her. She wiped mud on her face and hands. Ellie got the short end of the stick and was in knee deep freezing water. She was completely submerged except for her nose and up. Her AA-12 in her hand ready to be shot. Her lower jaw continued to shake. 

Men and women walked to the beach with their bows and arrows notched. One glanced in Ellie’s direction and she held her breath as she submerged herself completely. After a minute she slowly raised her head. 

There had to be a few dozen walking down here. How could they spare so many to search for them? Weren’t they fighting a war? Go fight the enemy! They just wanted to leave.

They were in the center of the beach. It was now or never. Ellie could see the faintest of movement in Abby’s direction. Ellie brought her legs under her and stood, raising her rifle.

Just as Ellie pulled the trigger so did Abby. The flashes of their guns lighting up the beach like strobe lights. The sounds of the guns were deafening as they broke the silence.

Ellie ran out of the freezing water and Abby pulled herself from the mud and charged into the fray. When Abby’s gun ran dry a man tried to tackle her but a mean uppercut rattled him enough for her to pull her pistol out and shoot him in the gut. She turned to the right and fired at two more. She had three bullets left. 

A woman tackled her against a tree and Abby used her gun to hit the woman on the side of the head. Then kneed her in the gut twice before pushing her to the ground and stomping on her face twice to ensure she was down.

Abby quickly turned when she heard footsteps coming at her and brought her hammer up and caught the man on the upward swing. She brought it down on him hard. She did it until it was a bloodied mess. 

When Ellie ran dry in her shotgun a woman about her size swung a club at her. Ellie jumped back then took a large step forward and used the butt of the gun to hit her in the face. Ellie hit her again and the woman fell back. Ellie didn’t let up and stood over her and hit the stock against her face. 

A large man tackled her and tried holding Ellie under the water. As they grappled he made the fatal mistake of allowing his ring and pinky finger to slip in between her teeth. Elk bit down as hard as she could.

She could feel the bones snapping and flesh separating as he yanked his hand away screaming in agony. Quickly Ellie spit out the dismembered digits and tackled him. Grabbing her switchblade and stabbing him in the neck. She pulled out the blade and stabbed him again when a boot kicked her off him.

Ellie reached back and pulled her revolver from her waistband and shot the person in the chest twice before the person fell. The blood diluted in the water as he laid there.

Ellie got up and saw one fleeing from them. That would be ok but it was in the direction of the boat they took. She pulled out her bow and arrow and shot him before he got any further. He fell face first into the water, an arrow sticking out of the back of his neck.

Ellie turned to Abby who had just got done stomping a woman’s face in. Abby looked up and raised her gun to shoot a few more of the enemy but by the fourth her pistol was empty. 

Ellie pulled out her gun and killed him. No bullets left in the cylinder. She had three and used them. 

Out of nowhere a man grabbed Abby and threw her to the ground but Ellie was just as fast pulling him off and stabbing him in the neck. When she threw the body down she stumbled over the one Abby had recently stomped in. 

Ellie fell next to Abby with a bleeding body next to her. Abby looked at Ellie and nodded. A way of thanking her without saying it.

Ellie patted the front of Abby’s shoulder and contemplated getting up. Neither wanted too. Their muscles burned and the lack of sleep from the previous night wasn’t helping either.

Abby and Ellie layed there in the beach filled with bodies catching their breath as there was a lull in the fighting. Who knew when they’d have to start fighting again. In a minute? Maybe an hour? They hoped it was over but that would be too easy.

All too soon more were showing up. Except they weren’t communicating in whistles but in words, and they wore jackets with WLF patches on them. Ellie looked at Abby. Abby patted her flamethrower, telling her she still had some fuel left.

Ellie nodded and got ready to fight another group of enemies. They watched as soldiers moved past them, not even batting an eye at the carnage they walked through. Some even stepped over them.

Ellie didn’t even have any bullets left. This was a fucking mess that was about to be created. Abby got her flamethrower in her hands silently. Then jumped to her feet and sprayed them down. 

More screams erupted as the fire engulfed them. Even if Ellie was out of bullets she wasn’t out of bombs. She threw explosives to the farthest enemies and Molotovs at the ones charging her.

If they thought they had to convince themselves they were in hell before. Now they really need to convince themselves they weren’t there. Fire bathed the area in orange as screaming was heard. Bodies were burning from the fire.

The only thing convincing they weren’t in hell was the fact they still had each other. If hell was a place where people burned and fire was everywhere this was it, but they still had each other. Two people not burning or dying.

Someone tackled Ellie and she hit a tree. The wood bent as Ellie grabbed her switchblade and sliced deep against his abdomen. She wasn’t trying to disembowel him but she’d take what she could get.

The dead tree finally broke and Ellie was once more on the ground fighting for her life. Slamming her head against the ground the man tried choking her out. It did little to nothing with it being sand but that didn’t make it any less frightening. Ellie grabbed at the man’s face and eyes. 

Abby saw what happened and wasn’t about to sit idly by. She ran over but this scrawny, but lean woman tackled her to the ground as well. They just kept coming!

Ellie tried reaching for her switchblade but the man followed her gaze and used his superior arm length to grab it and throw it further from her. 

Ellie grabbed his hands, trying to buck him off or get out from under him. She could feel her own life slipping. It was a truly scary feeling. Ellie was committed to living, to Dina and Joel. Jackson. The Saltlake crew. 

Ellie’s head fell back as she gritted her teeth. She needed a way out. A way out. Ellie looked down and got an idea. 

She punched him right in the wound she inflicted moments before and pushed in. The man hollered in agony as Ellie disemboweled him. A hoarse growl escaping her lips.

The feeling of being fist deep in a man’s intestines was a unique feeling. It was hot compared to the chilly weather they were in. It was slippery because of blood and the insides were smooth and squishy but had a firmness to them. 

Ellie let out a roar as she pushed him off with her left and hand and yanked with her right hand. The will to live is all she could think about. That and seeing everyone she missed. 

When Abby was tackled all she could think about was two things. Get this crazy bitch off me, and is Ellie alright? Last thing she saw was Ellie getting tackled.

Abby clawed at the sand above her and beside her trying to find anything to use as a weapon. Then her fingers caught on a large rock and she grasped it with all her strength before swinging it at her opponent's face.

She knocked the woman off her and she rolled into her. She had the large rock in both of her hands. Bashing the woman’s head in with the piece of earth. Blood flew in all directions as the rock struck. Cast off landing on trees and branches.

Teeth were broken and the skull fractured but Abby didn’t let up. Tunnel visioned in killing her she continued until the woman’s eye was beaten out of its socket and the jaw was hanging on loosely. Bone shown and skin was scraped off the cheek bone.

Abby sat back after and looked up to see Ellie standing. She still had something grasped in her hand. She followed it down to the man’s stomach. Ellie dropped the insides on him and looked up.

Three silhouettes stood at the top of the hill. Ellie grabbed her switchblade that was a meter away from her. Abby grabbed the hammer that had seen little to no use. When they turned the silhouettes were gone.

Ellie and Abby looked at each other. Then at the hill again. They both saw people on the hill so it clearly wasn’t a hallucination. Why did they run? Clearly they could have shot them and been done with it. 

“Are, are you ok?” Ellie asked.

Abby nodded and trudged over to Ellie. She nodded and cleared her throat. “Are you?”

Ellie nodded. Her mind was racing, ready to go. But her body was aching. Now that they were no longer fighting her adrenaline was worn off and she felt everything. Abby felt it too. 

“How long till they get back?” Ellie asked.

“Maybe morning?”

Ellie was going to respond when she heard a noise in the woods. She stumbled to where her AA-12 was and picked it up out of the water. Abby raised her gun as well. Even if it was empty, whoever was there didn’t know. The rustling got further away.

“Are we gonna have company?” Abby asked. But it was more of a statement.

“Maybe.” But it was said like a yes.


	32. Operation Steal Shit

**Earlier that night**

Manny, Owen, and Mel were heading back to the aquarium. To grab Nora and Manny’s father, some supplies and vehicles. Then they’d get to Jackson and everything would be great. Had to be better than this.

Finally they made it. Luckily all the best soldiers were fighting in the attack. The rest were no Chris Kyle or Mike Tyson. 

They were able to get a guard to let them in without any hassle. Surprisingly he didn’t know what Abby looked like so when the APB went out he ignored it. He also ignored that her friends were AWOL. Soldier of the month ladies and gents.

“We gotta get everything before the night is over.” Owen stated.

Manny thought for a second. “Nora, My father, then supplies and vehicles. What supplies?”

“I’ll handle the medical supplies.” Mel said. “Owen can worry about weapons. I’ll get to the medical wing, hopefully Nora is there. You find your father and clear out anything you need from your space but be fast.”

“What about you?”

“All I got is a bottle of wine in my room. Let’s go. Alice with me!” 

The three broke off into different directions. Owen was going to the armory. Mel was going to medical and Manny was running through the stadium to get his father.

Mel reached the cabinets where the meds were. Unfortunately she wouldn’t be able to take anything that needed to be refrigerated but there was other shit to load up.

“Did you hear something?”

“Let’s check it out.”

Mel froze. Then grabbed a bottle of etorphine and filled two syringes with the stuff. She hid behind the corner and listened to their footsteps. “Can you believe they deployed Nora to the front lines?”

“Isaac’s probably trying to kill her.Get rid of the crew from what I see.” Replied the other.

She’d need to tell them that Nora was somewhere on that island. But her top priority was getting the supplies.

Mel spun around the corner and jabbed both of them in the neck with the needles injecting them. They took a step forward before collapsing. They’d wake up in the morning feeling like shit but she wasn’t about to violate her hippocratic oath. At least not directly. Not if she could help it.

She held open a duffle bag and slid her arm over the shelf and walked. Knocking all the bottles of various drugs into the bag. She’d separate them later. 

Mel pulled out 5 more syringes and filled them. She laid them down on the table closest to her and got back to work. Throwing anything she knew would be useful into the bag. 

Owen was carrying as many guns as he could to a truck. He was glad the armory and garage were so close to each other. His pick of the vehicles. He’d start loading up the closest. It was a large military style vehicle with a mounted gun. He’d take it!

Owen opened the door to the backseat and threw them in. He jogged back and grabbed some more. He tried grabbing the practical guns but in a sense they all were practical. 

He ran back and opened a box. “Fuckin’ A” there were a dozen pistols in there. He ran over and threw the box in on the seat.

He grabbed a hand truck and stacked ammo boxes on it and hauled ass to the vehicles. He moved to the second one. This was just a troop transport. He opened the doors in the back and started loading them in. He was drenched in sweat and his arms were burning. But he was not going to stop.

Manny was full on sprinting to his father's room. If one so I have they might mistake him for the Flash. That super hero with the speed. He wondered if Ellie knew anything about The Flash.

He opened the door to see his father eating. “Dad come on. We gotta go.”

“Manny? Where have you been? I’ve been so scared.” He hugged his son. “Threy wanted to kill you and I thought I’d lose my only child!” 

“Dad, I know. But we’re leaving.”

“Leaving? Where Manny? This was the safest place. Where will you go?”

“No, us. Together. Dad. We have a chance to live peacefully. Not at war in a town in Wyoming. It’s called Jackson.” Manny said.

“Jackson? Sí. Ellie talked about the place when we were together. Is she alright? Tell me she’s ok Por favor.” He pleaded.

“She’s fine Dad. Actually going out and fighting.” Why did he tell his father that now he’d worry!

“She's the best fighter we got. She'll be fine.” Manny explained to him. Ellie was quiet as hell but packed a big punch.

Manny knew his father wasn’t against strong women. He spent time with the females of Saltlake but he also knew his father wasn’t a fan of seeing woman soldiers.

Manny grabbed clothes and any necessities he could for his father. Then turned to his father. “Dad I’ll be back. I’m going to my room.”

He wanted to grab a few things from there. He opened the door and threw in some photos he managed to hold onto. What he really came for was that Damn sketchbook Ellie was always doodling in. Also anything that might point to their direction.

He looked around. Ellie was an amazing artist but right now that was bad. He grabbed every drawing that he didn’t recognize personally. Joel, Tommy, Maria, Dina, Jesse. Hell even the horse pictures. He did not want them finding anything linking the WLF to their new place.

He looked under the mattresses. He was temped to shout ‘shake down! This is your first and only chance to hand over any contraband without punishment.’ From a show him and Ellie watched about prison.

He ran back to his father. “Come on Dad. We’re going to the garage.” 

They finally made it and Owen looked ready to collapse but didn’t. Manny ran forward and helped him. “Where’s Mel? Shouldn’t she be here?”

“I’m here!” She yelled and went to an opened vehicle and dropped her two backpacks and duffle bag into the cab.

“Jesus. You kill a man?” Owen asked, pointing to the bag.

“Supplies. How we doing?”

“Alright.” Manny told her, but really had no authority considering he just arrived.

Mel grabbed Jerry cans and loaded them into the back of a truck. “I overheard guards talking. Nora is on the island.”

“Fuck! Really? Isaac fucking did that?” Manny asked. His father whacked him for cursing but he was too pissed off to notice. 

Mel nodded. “Part of our mission was to get her.”

“I know! We’re doing that but fuck!” Manny yelled. His father whacked him again, but neither had intent to hurt. “Los siento. So we’re going to the island?”

The others nodded. 

At the aquarium they parted the vehicles out of site and were inside. “Dad, we’ll be fine.”

“You are so kind. I’m so proud.” 

“Dad. Please. I have to go. I will be back. Alice will be here for you.” He pet the good girl and turned 

**Present time**

Manny insisted on coming and did just that as he sat in the back of the boat. Yeah the waves hurt like a motherfucker but he would be damned if he let a Seraphite go back on their own without any supervision. He wanted to ensure that She’d go back. 

What was the story with this girl anyway? She said she was following orders helping Ellie. What orders was she given and by who? Who was telling her to help a bunch of Wolves? Someone who clearly wasn’t thinking right.

The sun was just starting to rise as they approached the island again. The smoke could be seen going into the sky from when they were in Seattle. It must’ve been horrible for them. Manny never had any connection to Lev or Yara but he could empathize losing everything in front of their very eyes. 

The island was close. Manny stood despite the pain and approached the side to get a better look. Returning to the scene of the crime. He glanced at Chris, who was driving.

“Over there.” Manny pointed to where they last left them. Why the hell did they leave them again? It was so stupid. Cover their retreat? They all could have made it. 

It was too dark to see far. Conveniently the previous owner had stored some powerful flashlights under the deck. It was a terrible place to store electronics but Manny was not going to complain about a good thing.

Chris has slowed the boat down. She’d gonnen as close to the beach as she could without getting it stuck. Then turned off the moter and turned a flashlight on. 

“Shit. Ellie! Abby!” Manny yelled. There were dozens of bodies on the ground. From what he could see some were burnt to a crisp while others had dried blood covering them. 

“Abs? El?” He asked again. Manny hopped out despite his ribs. They could be in worse condition! 

“Hey! If you puncture a lung they won’t be happy about it!” Chris jumped out and quickly tied it to a rock she could wrap the rope around. 

She caught up and looked around. “Oh fuck me.” She breathed. “Jesus Christ.” Chris said.

“How do you know who that was?” Manny asked.

“I have the scars and talk like them but I don’t come from the island. I come from England.” She said. “But my biological parents were both Japanese.

Manny raised his eyebrows. Not something he expected. When he looked down he saw a body with its intestines hanging out. Chris moved a dead WLF member with her boot. The face was so beaten that bits of the brain were exposed. The jaw was messed up to high heaven the eye hung out of its socket.

Manny picked up a shotgun shell. It was not a very good lead, considering anyone could wield a shotgun but there was a small collection of shells that might have come from an automatic one. A broken hammer was next to them.

Chris was kneeling on the ground. “Footprints going this way.” She pointed in the direction and took off. Manny tried to run after her but his ribs stopped her. 

Finally Chris waited up for him. Then they advanced together. They came to the area the boat was previously tied to. 

Abby was on her knee. Looking out at the water with a gun in her hand. Ellie was slumped against a tree, her head hung low and her arms were crossed in front of her. 

“Abby?” Manny asked.

She turned. “What are you doing here? You’re ribs!”

Ellie shot up and gasped. She was woken up abruptly and thought they were under attack. But she saw Manny and Chris standing there. Huh, so Chris did return. That or Manny threatened her but probably the former over the latter.

Ellie stood and walked to them. Chris nodded but Manny ran up and gave her a hug. That caused both of them to realize they were in no condition to hug. Ellie was beat to shit and Manny’s ribs were in bad condition.

“Let’s go.” Chris said.

“You’re still here?” Ellie asked. She was sure she’d left by now. 

“Following orders.”

“She’s dead. You’re not getting new orders.” Ellie said. 

“I know.” She opened her mouth to say something else but closed it. She sighed and looked at where the burned village was. “Don’t get caught by the Seraphites. I mean the ones native to the island.”

“What do you mean? Weren’t Nakita and the twins?” Manny asked.

“No, Nakita was in her early 40s? Something like it. She used all the world tactics on you.” She headed in a direction. “I’ve got business to take care of, that’s why I rode on the boat. Be alright without me?”

“Were you born a Seraphite?” Abby asked her.

“No. I was made one.” Then turned and walked off. That was odd. Just like that she was gone. Where was she going too? Probably off to bury Nakita. 

“Come on the boat is this way!” Manny was all too eager to get off the island. 

Abby and Ellie followed him. Then they hit the beach. The same damn place they fought for their lives. Abby would never ever see sand and think of a relaxing get away. Not anymore. 

The ride back was slower. There was no urgency to it. “There was a lot to take in on that beach.” Manny said.

“If you don’t mind me asking. How did you two survive?” 

Abby looked back at the island. “Who said we did?”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I’m dragging the readers through the figurative mud by not really progressing the story time or doing it so slowly that 2 turtles fucking is faster, but I got no real excuse. This story is my pride and joy and writing Is fun. Besides I’m not even sure how to write certain things. So I just drag out the story. I want to have it wrapped up semi-soon but no promises.
> 
> I don’t want to give my readers prison syrup. Being that the syrup is watered down and stretched far more then is should be. But I feel like I’m starting to stretch it. 
> 
> Give me feedback telling me to hurry the fuck up or write how I want. Just semi-politely.


	33. Mindfulness

They were rearranging the stuff so if one truck got hijacked which was very unlikely and they’d fight or if a truck spontaneously combust they’d still have a ⅔ of what they had. Owen was locking up the aquarium one final time.

“Need a moment?” Abby asked him.

“I’ll miss it.” He looked down. Then at her. “But I’m ready to go. The way Ellie talks of Jackson. I won’t need a hideout.” Owen chuckled and patted the locked doors.

“Let’s go.” He stepped away and turned to the trucks. “I’ll miss this place.” He pocketed the keys. Could he say goodbye to this place he’d grown to call home? Yes he could. 

“Don’t worry. Ellie set traps everywhere.” Abby said.

“I know.” He turned to the others. “So who’s getting what? Cause I want the one with the mounted. I did find it.” 

Abby went with Owen. It was too long since they had their own time. Mel and Nora claimed the other vehicle without the gun. Leaving the troop transport for Manny, his father, and Ellie. 

Ellie looked at Yara and Lev. They probably weren’t going to be too happy about it. But they would live. Manny wasn’t that bad.

“Remember to keep your radios on.” Owen said and then they got in.

Owen and Abby were sitting in silence until Owen broke it. “Can you believe it’s actually happening? No more fucking war.”

“Hmm, great.” 

“What are you gonna do with all that extra time? Maybe they need more engine maintenance?” Owen mentioned happily. Owen did have a talent for doing things with his hands. The only thing holding him back from fixing the boat was the lack of parts.

“I’m sure they do.” 

“Are you ok? You’re quiet.” He looked at her. Then looked back at the road. 

“I’m fine Owen. Just tired. Haven’t slept in a few days or so.” The lack of everything was kicking in. 

“Then sleep. You need it.” 

“We haven’t had any time to talk. Don’t you want that?” Her voice tired and agitated. Not at him, just at life.

“Sleep, you need it.” He put a tape in and the song ‘Swing Life Away’ started playing. At least it was peaceful, not that loud music Manny rocked out too. Wasn’t even in English.

Abby reclined the seat and laid back. She fell asleep faster then she thought she would. 

Ellie was sitting in the back with the two Seraphites. Father and son were in front. Manny explaining how amazing it would be. How they’d finally be able to spend more time together. He wouldn’t be getting deployed for weeks anymore and they’d be a normal family.

“Come on Dad it’ll be just like before. Movies on weekends, drinking on Fridays, and dreading Monday when it comes. All the stuff you talked about.” Manny said.

His father smiled. “I do miss them.”

Ellie half listened in. Her leg couldn’t sit still. So much happened in the last few days for her. She looked at the siblings, then looked down. She needed to clear her head and relax. She missed Dina. Then there was Eugene. Even if they never had a friendship he always had some weed on him. She’d kill for one right now to calm her nerves.

“Ie? Ellie?”

She looked up to see Lev looking at her. “What?”

“Will Jackson have other kids my age?”

“Umm yeah. I think so.” How the fuck was she supposed to remember? She’d been gone for months? More likely years. She knew there were kids his age, probably.

“Aren’t you happy to be going back?” Lev asked her.

Ellie shifted with the automatic shotgun in her hand and sighed. “Something like it.” Showing up and showing immunity. Real fucking joy.

“You don’t seem it.”

“Just drop it.” Ellie told him. She needed to process everything in Seattle. Then she’d start thinking about Jackson. One problem at a time. Please.

“Alright.” Lev dropped it.

Ellie laid on the bench she was sitting on. Swinging boots up and leaving the gun on her. Her left arm acting as a pillow and the other holding the gun in place. She forced her eyes closed and stayed like that until she fell asleep.

She fell asleep to the thoughts of seeing all those she missed. She hoped her immunity wouldn’t change anything. She was still her, but without dying to the fungus.

Nora was driving as Mel sat beside her. Alice getting the whole backseat to herself. “So you really did that? M99.” Nora recalled when Mel knocked out the soldiers with the syringe.

Mel nodded. “I’m not killing anyone if I can help it. That was a viable option.” 

“Going Dexter on them?”

“No! That TV show is a curse to forensics. That show is the definition of a forensic nightmare.” Mel yelled.

Nora laughed. She knew that would trigger Mel into a rant. “He never wore any PPE. Bloodborne pathogens and he introduced contamination into the scene.”

Mel was fuming about it. Her hands were open on the wheel. “I’ve seen what a human body does when it’s stabbed repeatedly! That show is wrong!”

“So you wouldn’t watch it with me?” Nora asked.

“No! Only on your birthday and that passed. That show,” Mel shuttered. “The procedures were all wrong.” 

After A long while Alice decided to let Nora and Mel know that she needed a bathroom break. Nora grabbed the radio. “Lets stop at the brick building up ahead. Alice needs the bathroom.”

“Looks like we can park in the back.” Owen said. He drove behind the building. He didn’t want to leave the trucks out in case someone passed by. 

Ellie got out and was joined by Abby, Manny, Owen, and Nora in clearing the building. Lev, Yara, and Mel stayed with Manny’s father. 

After clearing the place they found a few maps lying around. They were in the living room plotting out how to travel. “If we go This way it will take the least amount of time.” Manny pointed to the highways.

Owen looked at a different map. “What about train tracks?”

“Not reliable. If the city’s look ready to fall apart there’s no guarantee that the tracks are even there to follow.” Mel told him.

“Why can’t we stick with the original plan?” That was actually to follow the highway.

“During the outbreak everyone tried to leave or move. We can go that way but it might be faster to take the backroads. Less cars to push.” Ellie remembered the highways. What a way to go, waiting for a rescue. 

“With these maps we have a more detailed layout of the area.” Owen said. “We don’t have to decide tonight. We were in a spot when we stole the vehicles but we’re not anymore.”

“He’s right.” Mel said. “We need to think this out. We’re gonna be drawing the attention of every living being if they see us.”

“We could fight them off. Right?” Lev asked. “We have guns and a ton of bullets.”

“That’s the last option.” Nora said. 

Ellie agreed with that. When she got back to Jackson she would not complain about getting a job inside the walls. Carpenter, blacksmith, name it, she wouldn’t care.

It was getting dark. “I’ll take the first watch.” Ellie told the group and got up from her crouched position.

Manny’s father left for a moment and came back. In his hands was an acoustic guitar. “Where’d you get that?” Ellie stopped in her tracks.

“I grabbed it before we left. Manny did not tell you?” He asked her.

“No.”

“You need rest.” Manny said with a smile. “Owen and I got watch tonight.”

“I rested on the way here. I’ll be fine.” She said.

Emmanuel Sr. Put a hand on Ellie’s shoulder. “Ellie. Pov favor take time for yourself.” His eyes pleading for her to rest.

“I just rested.”

“You need a break. I know you do” He told her.

Ellie didn’t argue with him, it would be a lost battle. She just sat next to him as he himself sat down. She didn’t know what to do. Her mind was going a mile a minute, now an abrupt halt. Like a car suddenly hitting a brick wall. The vehicle may have stopped but everything else was flying forwards. No action but her body was ready for it.

Her mind was wandering. What if they were caught by WLF? Did the Seraphites all die or were they still fighting? Did they truly escape were they being tailed by someone?

“Ellie. Tell me 5 things you see.” Emmanuel Sr. Asked of her.

“What?”

“What are five things you see? Please tell me.” He gave her a soft look.

“You, Abby, Nora, Mel, and Alice.” She answered. 

“Bueno bueno. Five things you feel?” He asked her.

“What are you doing?” She asked him. 

“What do you feel? Physically feel.” He put his shaker hand on her hand.

“Your hand, it's cold, my gun,” she tapped her foot on the floor. “The floor and the shirt on me.”

This cycle of asking and answering went on a few more times until he stopped. “How are you feeling?”

“Fine. What was that about?”

“Control. When I felt out of control I would do simple things like it to bring me back.” He told her. “Mindfulness exercises.

“Where’d you learn that?”

“When I was deployed.” 

“You were a soldier?” Ellie was stunned. She never expected him of being one. He seemed like the nice old man. 

“Si. Iraq. 15 años. But that was a long time ago.” He thought for a moment. “I ran off when I turned 18. But when that one came along,” He pointed to where Manny walked out. “I got out to be with him. Saved me from the end of the world.”

“Wow.” Ellie breathed. She could only imagine being in a base thousands of miles from home fighting for her life. “Must have seen some stuff.”

Emanual nodded and put his hand on her shoulder. “I’ve seen many things. Killed a man at 19?” He wasn’t sure if it was 19 or 20. “Would’ve killed my friend.” 

She nodded and looked forward. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a wallet. Ellie never needed one, but the people from the old world always seemed to have them. 

He showed her a picture of a young man. Faded and tattered on the edges. The person wasn’t a bad looking guy either. “My friend. He died when he went home. Drunk driver.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. Called him BS for bullet sponge. But he also spewed it.” He laughed at that. “He went through so many bullet resistant vests.”

Ellie hummed. “Could’ve used some.” 

Emanual Sr. Chuckled. “Indeed.” He looked down at his hands, then at her. “One soldier to another, don’t forget to smile.”

“I’ll try not too.” She told him.

  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Less action filled and slower. But I tried building a bit more on Manny’s father. I keep forgetting about him. He was only shown one time in the game and they never addressed him again. Same with Jordan and especially Leah.


	34. Hunting The Hunters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy early thanksgiving if you celebrate it. If not then happy early Black Friday. Try not to get trampled by the bargain shoppers. You know those crazy shoppers, or is that a USA thing?

Ellie was missing Shimmer a lot. More than she ever thought she could. They were taking the highway. It was the most direct path but they had to push cars out of the way and swerve around other obstacles.

Horses were so much better. They didn’t require gas and they could jump and go in ditches. Trucks would get stuck in ditches. Horses also offered companionship. Something that a truck simply couldn’t do. Unless it was fucking Optimus Prime.

Ellie chuckled at that thought. They were camping in a building deciding their next course of action. “We can go to the next town and scout for gas.”

Everyone looked at Mel. She wasn’t wrong. They needed it. “What if they don’t have it? It’s a garuntee that those hunters have some. They have lights. Probably a generator.” Owen stated.

**Flashback—-**

Ellie was with Abby and Owen during the ride because they needed a tie breaker. Both were making their case of morning person vs night person. 

“Getting up before everyone is so much more acceptablethrn sleeping in till 9 in the morning.” Owen argued.

“9 isn’t even that late! It’s early. For getting up and going to sleep grandpa.” She jabbed at him.

“Well night time is when the crazier people are out.”

“Are you calling me crazy Owen?”

“Yes! No. Wait.” He really should of worded it better.

Abby looked at Ellie. “Can you believe this guy?” Abby and Ellie weren’t going to be winning any acting awards but damn if it wasn’t fun.

“Definitely not a way to keep a girl.” Ellie shook her head.

“Wow. Ganging up on me. I’m not calling her crazy.” 

“I’ll put in a good word so you get a nice couch.” Ellie patted his shoulder.

“I’m not- fuck really?!”

Another bunch of cars blocking the road. They were still soar from the last bunch they had to push out of the way. Ellie still had the scuff mark when a clicker tackled her and Manny saved her ass.

“Just turn off the highway. We can get back on a mile down.” Abby pointed to the map.

As they drove down a woman stumbled out calling for help. Owen stopped the vehicle. Ellie remembered this all too well. “Go back.” She grabbed the radio and pushed the button. “We gotta get out of here.” She turned to Owen. “Any bullets in the mounted?”

Ellie would tell Owen to run her over, when Joel tried that they got hit by a bus. No it wasn’t a functioning bus but they were still hit with it. 

“Yeah, Ellie what are you thinking?”

“Let’s get out of here first.” Ellie pointed in the opposite direction with her thumb.

Owen did as instructed and reversed. Then drove away and back to a building they had recently looted. Ellie told the others over the radio what had happened.

Truth be told they were extremely lucky that they weren’t ambushed then and there. Maybe their numbers were too small to take on militaristic looking people? 

**Present-time—-**

“It’s going to use the rest of our fuel just to get to the town over.” Mel said. 

Owen nodded. “We can take them out tomorrow. Rain should help cover us.”

“Hold up.” Abby put her hand up. “Is that what we decided? That we’re going after them?”

“We know for a fact they have gasoline. I don’t want to gamble by going to the town over.” He explained.

Lev looked at them. “We can do it. I know we can.”

“It’s not a matter of if we can. Do we really want to do this?” Nora looked at the others. 

“If we’re gonna do this who’s gonna go?” Mel asked. 

Ellie thought for a moment. “I can see what they have. Then we can decide.” 

“I can go with you.” Yara offered. 

“No, I’ll be fine. I’ll be back.” Ellie was already getting up and slinging her bag over her shoulder. She grabbed her gun as well.

Manny shot up. “Woh, it's dark out. You can’t be serious. Wait till morning at lease.”

“If we're gonna be attacking them tomorrow then we need the information on them.” Ellie pointed to the door. 

Abby got up. “I’m not letting you do this alone.” 

Ellie wasn’t winning this battle. She just nodded and gestures for Abby to follow. “We’ll be back around 8.” She told them.

Abby walked with Ellie. “What’s up?”

“What do you mean?” 

“You were dying to get out. You ok?”

“I’m fine.” Ellie told her. She just wanted to stretch her legs. Being stuck in a vehicle for long periods of time was getting to her. She was used to being sent on long missions. Sometimes with others but mostly alone. 

They were there. Laying on a road above where the hunters were. “I see four buildings they’re using.” Abby pointed to the four lit ones.

“Looks like a garage in that one.” Ellie pointed to the closest building. She could see the lights on and a vehicle going in.

“See that.” Abby pointed to the top of one of the buildings. A man was on the top of each building. They had a flashlight on them. Didn’t do shit for the lookouts but make them easier targets.

The sun was just starting to come up. The visibility became clearer. Abby pointed to a chain link fence. “Looks like they’re operating in the four buildings for sure.”

They observed for a bit longer before heading back. They didn’t want to get spotted. If they did the element of surprise would be over.

“Looks like there are four building.” Abby said as she sketched out the basics of their base. The four buildings and which one had the garage.

Ellie pointed to one. “That one’s the farthest but I saw someone carrying multiple rifles around it so I assume that’s where the guns are.” 

Abby drew a small X on each building. “They got a man on each roof keeping watch.”

Ellie yawned and focused on the paper. She rubbed Alice's head and looked at the others. Alice locked her fingers before rubbing against Ellie.

Owen scratched his stubble. “How are we gonna do this? Once they figure out they’re being attacked they’ll converge on us.”

Abby looked at the map. “We can split up. Ellie can take far right. You can take far left. Manny can take the garage, Lev and I can take the last building.”

“Hold up.” Mel put her hand up. “What about Nora, Alice, Yara and I?”

Ellie beat Abby to the response. “You two are our medics. We can’t afford to have either of you out of commission. Alice can help you if they find the vehicles, can’t leave them unguarded.”

“What about me?” Yara asked.

Abby rubbed the back of her neck. “I don’t want to risk it.”

“I can fight.”

“I know. But right now I need you here.” Abby hopes that was a nicer way of asking her to stay put then demanding it. Abby knew she could fight but a missing arm was a huge thing to not have.

Nora sighed. “We can fight. Five of you taking on a huge camp is not in our favor.”

“You can be our backup. If we’re not back by noon come for us.” Abby said. 

“Fine. Noon.” Nora huffed. The logic of keeping the medics out of danger was there but that didn’t mean she liked it. 

Abby patted her arm. “Thanks.”

Ellie, Owen, Manny, Abby and Lev were laying on the pavement above hunters camp. Ellie pointed to the furthest of the four. “Give me five minutes to get there. Then we can attack.”

The others nodded and headed out. Ellie hopped down. The mud splashed against her boots and pants. She hid behind shrubbery and used the cracks of thunder and hammering rain to mask her footsteps.

She pulled the WLF jacket she had closer to her. The cold air and rain made for a shitty day but she pressed on. She was at the building but the only entrance was the window open three stories high.

Ellie looked around and grabbed a cable and secured it to a car. She climbed up a semi truck and onto the trailer before throwing the cable over a piece of metal sticking out and climbing up.

It was fucking difficult. Her grip was not what it used to be. That was the main reason she swapped for using the AA-12. 

She pulled herself through the window and looked at two men. Both looking outside.

“Can you believe we didn’t go after them? They had fucking military trucks!” The taller one said. 

“Might be from that WLF in Seattle. Heard from the newbie it’s a shit show. WLF running without a leader and the crazy group is moving. Think all are.” The shorter of the two said. 

The taller man walked towards another room and Ellie followed. “I think the WLF were bound to fall anyway. I mean a fucking war?” 

Ellie snuck up behind him and slit his throat. She placed the body down. The shorter of the two started talking again. “I mean do you honestly believe a fucking skinny ass white girl could topple a cult and military?... George?” 

She heard him walking to the room. “George, come on it was a simple question. Do you think a skinny ass bitch coul- agh.”

Ellie sunk her switchblade into his neck. Then let the body drop. Gunshots and yelling were heard outside. Then more from another direction. Looks like they were going loud!

A man from the roof dropped from The hole in the ceiling. That surprised her just as much as he was surprised to see her. But she recovered faster and charged him, slicing his cheek, abdomen, and then his throat.

Ellie pulled out her AA-12 and charged down the stairs with her gun raised. She cleared the second floor with precise shots to their chests. 

The first floor had no stairs so she jumped down. Ellie shot two men charging her but she ran out at the third man and he knew she was out.

He ran and swung his pipe at her and it just managed to connect with her cheek. It knocked her to the side but the sledgehammer to the diaphragm was still worse. She dodged the next swing and the glass he hit shattered. When he swung again she dodged again and this time kicked him in the groin. 

Ellie slammed the hunter’s face against the glass that was sticking out. She threw him to the ground and fired her pistol at another man charging her.

She holstered the pistol and picked her shotgun up and ran through the halls. She pulled the trigger and downed anyone she saw. She turned the corner to be face to face with Abby. “Friendly.”

Ellie lowered the gun and looked at Lev. “Your building already clear?”

Abby nodded. “Yours?”

“Yeah.” Ellie heard gunshots from the other building. 

Abby and Ellie headed to the other buildings. Ellie pointed to Lev and Abby with her index and middle finger. Then at the building to the left. She pointed to herself, then to the right.

Abby nodded and Lev followed her. They entered the building and walked through the halls. Dead bodies were littered across the floor.

They pushed open the door to see Owen bringing a board down on a guy’s head. “He was the last one.” He breathed.

Shouts were heard from the final building and the three ran to see what was happening. Manny and a man were fighting.

Lev shot the man in the leg causing him to fall. Manny grabbed the machete from the floor and stabbed him with it. He turned to the kid and nodded. 

“Holy shit.” Owen moved the guy’s arm to reveal a WLF patch with the wolf on it. 

“Overheard others talking.” Ellie said. “Apparently Seattle is a mess. People defecting on all sides.”

“Shit.” Abby sighed. The place was already a war zone. Now it didn’t even have its leaders. Of course people would desert the cause. If there even was one anymore.

They stood for a moment until Lev broke the silence. “Shouldn’t we tell Nora we’re ok?”

“Good idea. Abby, Lev, can you two get the others here?” Ellie asked.

“What are you gonna do?” 

“We’re gonna sort this stuff out. Hopefully they got food. I really don’t want to hunt.” Ellie was good no doubt about it. But she was fucking tired. Scouting the place and then attacking was starting to affect her. Last thing she needed was to hunt.

Abby and Lev were out and they were sorting out what they could find until Manny grabbed Ellie and dragged her to the garage. “El! Guess what I found!”

“Where’s Owen?!” Ellie was sorting out what the hunters had for ammunition and seeing what they had for guns. What was so important that Manny had to literally drag her at some point to the garage.

“Look!”

She looked at the garage. “No. Fucking. Way. You’re not bullshitting me?” 

“Sí! I looked em over El. The motorcycles only need a new fuel pump and the other a battery and that’s it!” Manny said.

“Goddamnit. Where are we gonna find that stuff?” Ellie asked. 

“Garage down the road. This is a huge find! Gotta feel it El.” Manny pleaded.

“I’m not the one you need to convince.” Ellie was referring to the two medics who were on their way there. “Thought Owen would be here.”

Manny shrugged. “Maybe we should have first dibs. After all the troop transport gets cramped.” He grinned and gave her a sideways glance. “Besides Abby and Owen can get all cozy in their vehicle.”

Ellie grinned. Joel would be so jealous right now. This would definitely be the best gift he had ever gotten from her. Ellie could appreciate a good ride but Joel would love it.

  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I never thought this writing hobby could become so stressful. It needs to be perfect. I can assure you that you will have something to read for the deleted scenes of this.
> 
> Speaking of the deleted scenes, I might make a different story containing all the deleted scenes just so it’s not all jumbled in this story. That better or an inconvenience seeing that the non-used scenes would be in a completely different location?


	35. The author is dragging this out because he’s dreading writing the big chapter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title says it all.
> 
> Hope everyone survived Black Friday. I know the pandemic really shut things down but it really was a site to behold once a upon a time. Let me know in the comments if you got any great deals.

“Manny. All it’s gonna do is take up more gasoline.” Mel argued.

“Those are Harley Davidsons. I know one is. The other is custom but it’s still huge! Just a trip to the garage down the road. One day.” Manny pleaded with her.

He turned to Ellie with puppy dog eyes. Ellie groaned and backed him up. “Can we have a day? Won’t even take a vehicle. Just a mile and a half out.” 

Nora glared at Ellie. She thought Ellie was above this. “Really Ellie? I expected Owen and Manny to beg for the motorcycles but you too?”

“They’re good rides!” Ellie defended.

Abby was listening in but not getting involved. She didn’t need to. Finally Mel caved and Abby chuckled. Owen wrapped an arm around her waist. “Still arguing with Mel?”

He pressed his face into her neck. “Mel just told them the ok.”

Owen pulled his face away. “Wait really?” 

Abby turned and nodded. “Really.” She turned to him. “How are the vehicles doing?”

Owen wanted to inspect them while they were here with tools. If there was an issue he wanted to catch it early. “Fine. Filled them up and they run great.”

“Glad we got a mechanic.” Abby smiled. 

“You just don’t don’t want to get your hands dirty.” Owen countered. 

“I’ve got my hands plenty dirty.” She took a step forward, invading Owens personal space.

“Abby! Abby!” Lev shouted as he looked for her.

Abby let go of Owen and looked for Lev. “What’s up?” 

He handed her a book. City Of Thieves. “I missed this book. Great find Lev.” 

He looked around briefly. “Where’s Ellie?”

“Her and Manny went out to look for bike parts down the road.” She pointed in the vague direction of the garage. “Is something wrong?”

“No just not used to seeing you two separated.” He told her.

“Well Ellie’s her own person.” Abby said. 

Lev shrugged and walked off. Owen watched him go. “He always asking for Ellie?”

Abby shrugged. “Probably found a book on space or something.” 

Ellie and Manny we’re heading to the garage. “Thanks for the backup. Didn’t think Mel would’ve said yes without you.” Manny grinned and turned to her giving her a thumbs up.

“Let’s just see if they got the parts.” Ellie said. She didn’t want to get her hopes up only to have them crushed if the garage was looted and empty.

Ellie and Manny made it to the garage. Manny used a shiv today open the door and they moved through the doorway. The place had been definitely looted and clicking could be heard coming from the other room.

Manny and Ellie quickly dispatched the two infected and headed to the other side of the garage. Ellie fiddled with a draw before tanking it open. 

“Gotch ya.” Ellie grabbed the fuel pump required for one of the bikes. 

“Fuck yeah.” She heard Manny whisper. 

“Found a battery?” 

“Umm no.”

“Then what did you find?” Ellie was making her way over to him.

“Umm it’s nothing just a -hey!”

Ellie grabbed the magazine from his grasp. On the cover was a young woman in a seductive pose wearing a leather jacket with nothing under it and tight ripped booty shorts. She was bending over a motorcycle. Under it was titled ‘Get Your Engine Purring In Seconds.’

She looked Manny in the eye. So this is what he was swearing about. She raised her eyebrows at him.

“Good find, but stay focused. Battery first.” She shoved the magazine at him and walked away. She had to admit it was a great find but not a helpful one. Lucky bastard.

“El I found something!”

“Is it another magazine?!” She shouted to him.

“It’s a battery!” He proudly held out for her to see. “But I did find another magazine.” He waved it around like a trophy befihanfing it to her. “For you, because I’m that nice.”

Ellie raised one eyebrow this time and looked down. ‘Need Repairs?’ Is what it read. This time a brunette leaning against a mustang holding a huge pipe wrench. 

Ellie was no mechanic but she knew For a fact that there would never be the need for a pipe wrench on a vehicle. Especially one of that size. Totally what Ellie was looking at. The pipe wrench and not the fact that it was the only thing covering her bare chest.

Ellie huffed and put it in her bag. She wasn’t gonna throw out a gift. Even if it was from Manny. That would be rude, to throw a gift out in front of the giver.

“Come on, let’s get back before the others worry.” Ellie held the door open for Manny. They’d pass through the office when they heard a can fall over.

Ellie raised her shotgun and scanned the area. Manny had his pistol raised as well. They scanned the area when a fucking posom ran across the floor and Ellie shot a single shell and killed it.

“malditos animales.” Manny cursed. Damn animal made them think they were under attack.

Ellie grabbed it by the tail. “This should help.”

Back at the former hunter camp Ellie, Manny, and Owen worked in the garage fixing up the bikes. Owen definitely took the lead. Followed by Manny and then Ellie. 

Abby watched as Owen explained what he was doing to Ellie. She was glad her boyfriend and best friend were getting along so well. It had been a while since they spent time together. Besides she didn’t need to worry about Ellie stealing Owen from her. The last part made her chuckle.

After what seemed a lot longer than it should have taken they came out. “Took long enough for a battery and fuel pump.” Mel stated.

Owen rolled his eyes. “I was showing Ellie the basics while the bikes were under maintenance. Isn’t that right Manny?”

Manny nodded. “True.”

“Well it’s too late to travel and it looks like it’s gonna rain again.” Mel said.

“We can stay here another night.” Ellie said. 

Lev came in just in time to save the boys plus Ellie from Mel. “Food’s ready.”

They quickly went in the direction of food before Mel could add anything. They’d all been on the receiving end of Mel’s lectures, rants, or warnings. It wasn't a pleasant experience. 

While they are they told stories. “And that’s how I got a sprained ankle.” Manny finished the story.

“Next time just the bug alone.” Nora groaned. She remembered it like she was there. Mainly because she was.

“How bout you?” Owen asked Ellie. “Any embarrassing stories?”

Ellie looked up from her shotgun. She was using the scratch awl Owen lent her to scratch in the words ‘Endure and Survive’ on the stock of it. “None that I can think of.

“Come on, I’m sure you got something. We just heard how Manny was standing on a toilet to kill a bug because it was flying too close to him. Then he fell in and sprained his ankle. You can’t top it.” Owen comforted her.

“Wait, what about that storage unit?” Abby asked.

Ellie just sighed and accepted her fate. Not as bad as Manny but still embarrassing. 

Abby snorted before telling the story. “You wanna tell them how you defeated the mannequins, or should I?”

Ellie sighed and flicked at the freshly scratched words. “No, you can tell it.”

“Ok, well Ellie and I are clearing this building. There were Seraphites all over when Ellie opened the door and saw multiple body shaped outlines. She shoots the three in back and beats the head in on another. Only after the sixth mannequin death does she look at me and say ‘they had it coming’ then walk out the building with her chest out and shoulders back.” 

Owen chuckled. “You really showed them. Huh?” 

Manny shrugged. “I’ve killed mannequins before. But six? You must really hate them to kill six before you realized it wasn’t a threat.”

“Could’ve been a threat! Anyone play Silent Hill?” Ellie asked.

“More of an Evil Within type.” Manny told her.

Abby and Ellie yawned at the same time. Both let out a small laugh before everyone agreed that sleep was in order.

—-2-days-later——

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Abby was looking at a thick ass wall from an abandoned QZ. Made of concrete and steel. 

All the ladders leading up had long since rusted and fallen apart. “Looks like that building can get us over.” Owen pointed to a watch tower that looked about as stable as John’s mentality. But it was their only option.

Ellie took a step up the stairs and the whole set of stairs groaned protest. She looked up and saw just how far it was.

“If you want I can go.” Lev offered.

“No, you wouldn’t know how to operate the generator or the controls for the gate.” Ellie told him.

“Here.” Ellie took her bag off and handed the shotgun to Abby. She needed to be as light as possible. 

“Be ok like that?” 

Ellie nodded and pointed to the lowest point of the walkway on the wall. “You can throw me the shotgun and a magazine.” 

Owen looked at the treacherous path and back at Ellie. “If we don’t hear from you in 5 minutes after you leave our site we’re going over, structure be damned.”

Ellie nodded and stepped up the stairs. Each one protesting more than the last. There were a good six left and the one she stepped on gave out.

“Oh fuck!” Ellie grabbed the handle that didn’t break and pulled herself up. 

“Ellie! Are you ok?” 

“Ellie looked down at Abby. “Fine!... think I shit my pants.” She muttered to herself.

Ellie looked at the gap she had to clear and took three steps back. She charged forwards and jumped. Ellie nearly missed.

Her torso slammed against the steel. Her arms grasping at the grates and pulling herself up. Abby threw her the shotgun and a magazine.

“I’m heading to the right side.” 

Ellie pressed her back to the wall and slowly made her way to the destroyed concrete. From there she jumped over and headed down a ladder still intact.

Ellie went to the small slot on the door. “I’m through. I see a generator and a main control center.”

“Hurry up, I don’t like being separated.” Owen told her. “We can’t cover you.”

“I’ll be fine.” Ellie left the slot open as she started the generator. She used an extension cord to power the main control area.

Ellie went to open the door but it was locked. She looked at the big ass window and just smashed it. 

From there she found a book with all the codes in it to get the gate open. The doors creeped open and the other got through. Owen rode her motorcycle under the gate before giving it back to her, along with her bag.

Manny sighed as he tried to read the map. “How long till we reach Wyoming?”

“Probably a week with all the cars blocking the path, and that’s being optimistic.” Mel told him as she snatched the map from his hands.

Ellie just felt neutral about that. The way Ellie felt was excitingly dreadful. 

She got on her motorcycle and followed the others as she thought about her situation. What was Joel going to say? What about the others? Tommy and Maria. They knew of her immunity but what of the citizens Jackson? Would they understand?

  
  



	36. Here We Are

Ellie woke up earlier than any of the others. She huffed and sat forwards, leaning on her knees. Sleep was so hard to get these days. Her mind was still wound like a spring despite her body not doing anything strenuous. 

She stood and walked to the stairway going up. Alice lifted her head and started to get up. “No girl, get your rest.” 

She looked at the others still asleep. Abby was out cold snoring. Owen had his arm wrapped around her with his face buried in her neck. How the hell he could sleep with his ear so close to that noise maker she’d never know. 

The sun barely was up. It was still that peaceful blue out. Before the rays of orange and yellow. 

She scribbled a note and headed up the stairs. She needed some fresh air and they were gonna go up there anyway. To get a lay of the area.

Ellie sat on a chunk of concrete and rested one foot on an exposed piece of rebar and the other on an I beam. Her bag was sitting next to her with the shotgun resting so close to her it was against her right leg. Never went anywhere without it. 

The gun would never replace her bow but it was a good second. Especially when it was so user friendly with a spring in the stock to absorb the kickback and it was easier on the hand and forearm. 

She held up her arm and rolled down the sleeve. She made a fist and watched as the forearm moved. She was squeezing as hard as she could but her fist just didn’t get any tighter. She tried for a while but eventually gave up.

The wind definitely had a bite to it. Especially at skyscraper levels. She rolled her sleeve back down. But god damn if the view wasn’t gorgeous. 

Manny sat next to her. “Want one?”

“Sure.”

Manny lit the cigarette, which was a feat in itself with the wind but he managed. He grabbed one himself after. “If you squint you can still see the casino.” He pointed to the building they stayed at the other night.

“What are you doing up so early?” Ellie asked him. 

“Could ask you the same thing.” He told her. 

She nodded. “Tochè.” The only thing really illuminating their faces was the cigarettes.

They sat like that for a bit and watched the sun rise. Pointing out things as the sun crept up.

“There’s the triplets.” She pointed to the three buildings that stuck out because they were the tallest. 

Lev sat next to her. “Why’s it called triplets? I thought that was for three kids.”

By now the others had gotten up and were plotting their next move. 

Manny answered this one before Ellie could. “Three brothers, triplets. They all became architects and designed the buildings. The three were named after the brothers.”

Manny to a drag of the second cigarette he had lit. Manny only had a few he found in a convient store. Ellie was rolling the one in between her thumb and index lost in thought.

“You guys ready?!” Owen yelled across the building. He was inside with Nora. They needed to find a landmark because apparently maps aren’t entirely accurate after two and a half decades, plus carpet bombing in the beginning.

“Give us a minute! Sun’s still rising.” Ellie mumbled. 

“Five minutes. Then we leave.” Nora said to them as she walked over. 

“Jesus Christ. What are you edgy teens playing hooky?” Nora scolded them. She grabbed the cigarettes from their hands and threw them over the edge.

“Hey I wasn’t done with that! And who says hooky anymore? What are you, 90?” Ellie asked.

“Yeah Nora what the fuck.” Manny asked, but it wasn’t said like a question.

“Cancer sticks. Now let’s go. Your father would be mad.” 

Ellie snickered at Manny getting scolded and Nora turned to her. “You think Joel would be ok with you smoking?”

“Umm, let’s just get to the trucks.” Ellie pointed to the stairway they came up. Manny followed after her.

Nora turned to Lev. “See them? Don’t be like them.” 

He understood that her saying that was a joke. He laughed and nodded before heading down the stairs. 

Abby, Mel, Yara, and Alice packed up. Emmanuel Sr did what he could but Mel told him no and he listened. Never argue with the doctor, or surgeon.

“You guys find out where we are?” Abby asked.

“Yep, triplets are in that direction. Good landmark as any.” Owen told her. 

“Ok let’s go.” Abby said to them and got into the truck. “I’m driving this time Owen!” The door slammed shut.

Owen cursed and smiled at the others. They both enjoyed driving and she was faster to the steering wheel. 

Manny jumped on the custom bike while Ellie got on the Harley. She was going to start it up when Lev approached her. “Can I ride with you?”

“Really? You wouldn’t rather be in the troop transport with your sister in the heated cab?” She raised her eyebrows.

Lev nodded.

“Sure. Hold on.” 

Levi’s face lit up and he hopped on. He did as instructed and held on as she rode off. 

Ellie pulled alongside Manny who did a quick double take before focusing on the road. She smirked and pulled up closer than anyone should be comfortable with before breaking off and heading away.

That form of play went on for a while but all good things had to come to an end.

Alice had to use the bathroom. As did the rest of the crew. They were also hungry and Lev was ready to get back into the heated cab. 

The thin leather gloves offered little to no protection against the cold for Ellie. Only cosmetics for her. They covered her bite and Seraphite brand. That was all she really asked for.

Ellie threw a few branches into the fire and grabbed some damp ones to put next to the fire. Hopefully that would dry out the wood enough for it to burn. 

“We’re so close. If we don’t stop for dinner and head straight for Jackson we should make it before sun down.” Mel told them.

Ellie hummed. “I don’t want to be caught out at night. It’s early in the season but hordes migrate through the area. Might get an early one.”

“But still!” Abby nudged Ellie. “Going home! After all this time. You gotta feel something.”

“Trust me, I do.” Ellie put her hands up in mock defense.

“What does it feel like El?” Manny asked.

“Excited. Nervous.” Ellie felt impatient but wasn’t sure how to react. “Will they be upset that I didn’t return?”

Owen sneered. “If I were them I’d be thankful you even came back. You were doing pretty well in Seattle.”

Mel whacked him. “Yeah Owen. Except Nora and I would see her after Every mission and her sleep schedule was _sooo_ consistent.”

“If Isaac was out of the picture I meant.” 

Ellie grunted. “He sure is now, along with his generals. So are the Elders and a bunch of kids.”

The whole room went quiet. Ellie realized she just killed the mood faster then when she killed all those kids. 

“Well that took a turn.” Manny said and took a sip of flavored water. Didn’t taste like grape but it was better than tasting the chlorine tablets used to sanitize the water. 

“Yeah, sorry guys.” Ellie mumbled.

“No, I shouldn’t have brought up Isaac.” Owen waved his hand. As if to tell her not to worry about.

“Thanks, I do hope we hit Jackson today. This is the last of the food. Unless you want to count the twinkies.” Ellie said.

Abby chuckled. “Those things will outlast us.” 

“El, ever play Outlast?” Manny finished off the nutrition bar that tastes like sawdust. Had the texture of it as well.

“What’s that?”

“A game you’re going to play once I find a copy!” He had a huge grin on his face. That either meant extreme good or extreme mischief. She believed it to be the latter.

They were pushing it to say the least. The sun was going down fast but they were right there. Just a little further and none of them wanted to spend yet another day out there.

Manny was ahead and put his hand up but didn’t make a fist. He told them to slow down. He pointed over a hill and went to it. Then putting his fist up and stopping.

Ellie drove up next to him on the Harley. She looks down to see a horde down there next to the mansion. “That’s a lot of infected.” Manny said.

“What’s going on?” Abby got out of the truck.

“Just a horde. They come through here during the winter. This one’s a bit early but it’s not unusual.” Ellie explained.

“Why’s that?” Manny asked.

“Something to do with the barometric pressure, shit I don’t fucking know.” Ellie quoted Tommy.

Abby hummed. “Come on, it's already late enough.”

They were going to let the horde go when gunshots came from down there. A horde ran out and in the direction Jackson.

“Shit what was that?” Abby asked.

“Someone’s down there. Horses only run off without a rider when they’re told to.” Ellie explained.

Ellie pulled the shotgun out.

“Woh, you’re going down there?” Manny asked.

“By the time others see a riderless horse and send backup the horde will be inside.” She looked at the mounted. “How much ammo does that thing have?”

Abby shrugged an ran back to the truck. “Owen, how much does the mounted have?”

“Few boxes. Why what is going on?” He looked at Ellie and Manny pointing to things down below.

“Horde. Someone’s trapped inside the building.” Abby explained.

Ellie and Manny rode up next to them.

“Head down the road to the pole and shoot that way.” Elli pointed in a direction the she knew that there was nothing important that way. “Manny and I will draw them over there.”

Manny picked up where Ellie left off. “Have Mel and Nora head in, they might be injured. Abby, Lev, Yara and Alice will provide backup. Get in once the majority is drawn away.” 

The two took off on their bikes before anyone could object. Abby locked eyes with Owen before running to the troop transport and jumping in. She grabbed the radio and informed the others of the plan.

Ellie and Manny rode down. The noise of the bikes was enough to get the infecteds attention. Both pulled out guns to shoot at them as well. “Come on you bastards.” Ellie growled.

Once a dozen went after them the rest followed. Ellie and Manny nodded and turned to drive away. 

They were right there! The sound of a machine gun filled the air as Owen fired away. Ellie and Manny looked behind to see a pile of corpses piling. But there were still more.

Owen reloaded the mounted and dropped the empty ammo box to the ground. He continued the onslaught until that box ran dry. Then jumped down and pulled the pistol from his holster.

Ellie and Manny saw he was out and they pulled out their guns as well. Luckily there were only a dozen or so left. Finally they were finished with it.

“Come on!” Manny yelled. He got on the bike and headed to the mansion. Owen was going to get in the truck but saw half a dozen runners coming at them.

“Go, I got this.” Ellie said and pulled out a pistol.

Owen knew better than to question her. Ellie was glad for it. As she marched forward and shot each one in the head. There was one standing when her pistol ran dry. Ellie, with the flick of her wrist opened her switchblade and slowed her pace. She watched it move before attacking then stabbed it in the eye. 

The body fell and she wiped the blade off on the infected shirt then closed it and headed back to her bike.

Mel and Nora entered the building through an opened window by having Abby boost them up. The two opened the door and Abby walked in with Lev and Yara. Alice trotted through like the owner of the place.

Her nose immediately went to the ground and sniffed out the person. Heading around the corner and started walking down a set of stairs.

Abby led the way with Lev behind her. Mel and Nora were following with Yara covering their flank with a pistol.

Abby opened the door and covered the left and Lev the right. But everyone locked eyes with a bleeding man. He raised a pistol but Mel was quicker diffusing the situation.

“I’m Mel and this is Nora. We’re medics, some of our people are dealing with the horde, how were you injured?” Just as Mel said that the sound of a machine gun was heard in the not so distant area.

“Who the hell are you people?” He asked. 

“We’re- do you hear that?” Abby asked. The sound of a bike.

“They’re back. Patch him up. I’ll let them know we’re down here. Lev stay with them.” Abby ran up and found Owen and Manny. 

“Where’s Ellie?”

“Behind us. Did you find him?” Owen asked.

“Yeah down here.”

Manny and Owen came though. The man was standing in the middle of them. “Joel.” Was all he said.

Everyone’s posture changed and stared at him. The medics paused and The others stared at him. 

“Y’all sound like you heard of me or something.” Joel said. Still holding his arm.

“Cause we have.” Abby stood straight and turned to him. “Joel. Miller.” 

Joel took a step back ready to fight. Then Abby’s serious face turned into a huge grin and she turned to the others. They seemed just as happy.

Manny put his hands on his head, staring at him. Then a door slammed above them. 

“Shit, she’s here.” Owen bolted up the stairs. “Over here!”

Ellie Heard him calling and immediately rain in that direction. Was someone hurt? Was she wrong and it was really just a Hunter that stole a horse what was going on? 

Owen grabbed her by the arm and hauled her down the stairs at such a speed that’d surely should’ve ripped the arm out of the socket for any other person. He practically threw her through the doorway.

Ellie stumbled forwards and shot a glare at Owen for essentially manhandling her down the stairs and through the door. Then turned to face forwards.

Ellie blinked a few times. Was it really him? “Joel?”

She took a step forward but only a step. He stared at her but didn’t say anything. “Joel, I’m so sorry I didn’t come back.” She averted her gaze. “You tried so hard to hide my immunity and when I got bit I just figured that and oh god you must be pissed and they took me in and I didn’t want you to-“ 

Ellie’s rambling was cut short as Joel pulled her in for a bone crushing hug. “Oh Ellie. I ain’t fuckin pissed.” He got a better grip on her holding her even closer. “I thought I lost you.”

Ellie raised her arms to hug him back and bury her face in his upper chest. “Joel,” Her muffled voice came through. “I missed you so much.” 

“I missed you too baby girl.” He whispered to her. 

“Joel.” She murmured into his jacket. 

Joel never liked to cry. Never mind crying in front of someone. But right now he had tears in his eyes daring to spill out and he couldn’t have a damn about them.

Once his leg was healed he spent months looking for her but he never found her, or a body. Now that she was here he wasn’t ever going to fail her again. Never again.

Ellie was in his arms and he didn’t dare let go. Too many times he dreamed of her coming back only to wake up. He prayed to god this wasn’t another dream. Some sick trick played on him by his mind.

The sound of breaking glass pulled them both from their emotional state. They looked up to see Mel cursing Manny out. 

“I didn’t know there was a picture behind me.” He defended. Then looked at Ellie and Joel. “Los siento, Ellie.”

Ellie racked her brain for a moment. “Eres bueno.” She hoped she didn’t butcher the words. 

She turned to Joel who was staring at all the new faces surrounding him. “Umm, Joel. This is Mel, Nora, Owen, Manny, Lev, Yara, and Abby.”

Alice let out a woof. “That’s Alice.” Ellie petted her on the head. “Manny’s father Emanual Sr is currently in the troop transport.”

It was just easier to have him stay in an armored vehicle. Besides it it had heating and he was out of the elements. She highly doubted he was complaining.

“Quite the crew.” Different faces, races, and genders all staring at him. 

Abby held out her hand and Joel took it. Shaking it while looking at her. She was actually quite tall and had a firm grip. “It’s good to finally meet you sir.” Abby respectfully said.

Joel raised his eyebrows. Been a long while since anyone called him sir. At least this group wasn’t a bunch of animals. “You been traveling with Ellie?”

“Yes we have.” Abby spoke clearly and firmly. 

Joel definitely felt like he was in the presents of a bunch of soldiers. Granted everyone had to become one in this world but the way they carried themselves. 

Even Ellie stood with a straight back and had a gun he’d not seen before on her back. She had a scar on her cheek and a burn scar on her neck and jaw. 

Seeing new scars on her angered him. Whoever hurt her better pray they get eaten by a clicker before he gets his hand on them. Because he would make it hurt.

He shook the others hands and noticed a running commonality. They all had WLF patches. A wolf baring its fangs on them. Including Ellie. What did she do and where did she go?

Something in Washington right? The liberation front. Few traders came by and told them a while ago about them. How they’ve run the place after kicking fedra out. He wished he paid more attention.

“Ellie, can I look at his arm?” Mel asked.

“Holy shit Joel what happened?!” Ellie was so emotional she completely ignored the wound on his arm.

“It’s nothin. Damn floor collapsed and landed on it. Horde chased Callous II and I here.” He explained. 

“Lucky you didn’t break anything.” Mel told him. “Can you take your jacket off?”

Joel glanced at Ellie. She nodded and he took the jacket off and allowed her to examine his arm. Nora right next to her. “So you two medics?” 

“Surgeon.”

“Nurse.”

Joel hummed. Surgeon and a nurse. Definitely a useful skill set.

Ellie squeezed his hand. “They’re good at what they do. Promise.” She told him.

“How would you know?” He asked her.

“They got a lot of practice.” She told him. She conveniently left out the part about how all that practice came from them patching her up. All that would do is make Joel worry. 

She was still clutching his uninjured arm. Being in his presents made her feel whole again. Yet she felt oddly nervous. Like when she met Tommy for the first time. Why was that?

“How long have you lived in Jackson?” Owen asked.

“Seven years in a few months. How long you been with the liberators?” 

Owen glanced at the patch on his arm. “Same as you. About seven years.” 

“Clear the cellar!” Banging boots were heard running above them. Alice jumped up and flattened her ears. Ellie grabbed her shotgun out of muscle memory as the others raised their weapons.

“Shit the horse.” Joel said

“What’s that mean?” Abby asked.

“They think I’m ambushed.” He pushes forwards just as the door slammed open. 

“Drop your weapons!” Men ran into the room with guns raised high.

Joel put himself between the men and the group. “Tommy, Tommy put the guns down.”

He pushed the barrel of Tommy’s gun down. He pushed the barrel of another gun down. “They’re ok. Tommy I gotta show you something.”

Tommy looked past his brother to see a bunch of faces he didn’t recognize, and one he did. “Holy shit, Joel.”

He offhandedly gave his gun to the random person closest to him. Ellie put her shotgun on her back and ran up to him. The force of her knocking him back a foot.

No words were exchanged in the time they embraced. Finally Tommy got a good look at her. Her hair was definitely longer. “I missed you. When the group returned without you.” 

He wiped his mouth and just stared at those curious green eyes. “Maria and I,” He quickly wiped his face. “It was a tough time for us. The whole community felt it.”

Ellie remembered going out so long ago for supplies. “We got the supplies by the way.”

“Jesus fuck Ellie. I don’t care about no damn supplies!” He grabbed her shoulders to get a better look at her. “You’re here.” He rasped, trying to hold his emotions from coming through his voice.

“I did what I can but it would be best if we got a more sterile location.” Mel said, pointing to Joel’s arm.

Manny pointed to the door. “I gotta go.” He ran out like his ass was in fire up the stairs and out the door to his father.

“Jesus Joel, what happened?” Tommy marched over.

“Damn floor gave out.” He huffed. Not his best moment.

He looked at the others. “Umm, we can head back. It’s getting dark.” Getting dark was an understatement. It was dark and the only reason no one got lost was because Tommy and Joel knew the land like the back of their hand.

As they got out of the cabin Ellie grinned and pulled Joel to the side. “Look what we found.”

“Ellie, are you serious?” His eyes were wize and his lips were parted in shock. Before him sat a Harley Davidson. 

“Happy really late birthday.” Ellie had a sheepish smile. She glanced at Joel. 

“Jesus Christ Ellie.” Just What has Ellie done in the time she was gone? Joel was heartbroken he wasn’t there for her. Even more so because he made such a fuss over her immunity it drove her away, but she came back thinking only of him.

“Ellie…”

“Come on!” She was already near the motorcycle. She was gesturing for him to ride it. 

“Ellie.” Joel wiped his face and took a breath. “I don’t know what to say.”

“Don’t say anything. Cone on.”

Joel took a hesitant step forward. Then another, followed by another. He put a hand on the seat. He swung his leg over it and took in every little detail.

Ellie looked up to see Mel rubbing her face. ‘What?’ She mouthed to her.

Mel tapped her arm. Ellie looked at Joel’s arm. “Can you ride with that?” She pointed to his arm. 

“Just a scratch. Your friend made a huge fuss over nothing, really.” He rolled his shoulder to prove it, but the trained eye could see a slight wince when he did it. 

Tommy was back on his horse. He was definitely happy for Joel, if not a little jealous of him. “Ready?”

Ellie nodded. “I’ll be right behind you.”

She turned when Manny stopped her. “You can use mine.” Manny pointed to the custom bike he rode on.

“Really?”

“Me and Dad have to talk. Ride back with yours.” 

Ellie opened her mouth to correct him but shut it after a second. They all knew who Joel was to her. 

“Thanks.”

Ellie got onto her ride and took off next to Joel. It felt like she was in a fantasy and any minute she’d wake up. She’d wake up in the aquarium or in a ditch somewhere.

The gates came up and with Tommy and the others leading the way the gates were opened. Ellie and Joel pulled off to the side. Ellie pointed to an area where they could park.

Ellie got off and kicked the stand down. She turned to the others getting out of the vehicles. They all looked amazed at the community before them. Nothing like the WLF stadium, actual houses and streets. 

“Holy shit Ellie. You lived here before?” Manny looked at the high walls and watchmen currently staring at them and not the outside. Other people were watching them but all it did was amaze the others. People living their daily lives as people. Not soldiers, not prisoners, or unlucky trespassers but people.

Abby put a hand on Ellie’s shoulder. “Got a nice place here.”

“I do, should see it during the middle of the day. Want to meet the leader of this place?” Ellie asked.

“Who’s the leader?” 

“You’ll see. Tommy, Maria in her office?”

“Yes she is. I can radio her you’re coming. She’ll be so happy to see you.” He put the radio to his mouth but Ellie stopped him.

“I’m heading up now.” She turned and walked up the hill to the office sitting on the top of it.

Manny stayed at the trucks with his father and Mel stayed as well. Alice stayed as well.

Ellie marched up to the main office with all of her gear still on, plus the group that also had all their gear on definitely turned heads. Hell, just seeing what looked like a small militia coming through would turn anyone’s head.

The place was lit up. The string of lights had such a welcoming feeling. Was it too much to say this looked like paradise. Well after liking in a war, then in that hell outside the walls, yeah it looked like paradise.

Ellie opened the door to the building and smelled the interior. The smell of wood and old books. The memories of all the days spent here came flooding back. Now she was here again. But with her… family? Yeah, family. 

She went to where Maria would be but slowed her pace.

“Blake, I'm not going to send people out into unknown territory for expansion we don’t need. Especially with winter practically here. We can talk in the spring.” Maria said.

“I just came from a war. Do you think this place will last forever, it won’t. You need outposts, Lookouts, anything to give a heads up in case there’s a threat coming! You have kids. You have elders. You have everything others will kill for.” Blake argued.

“No.”

“I heard from the grapevine you lost your niece-“

“Blake.” She warned.

“But you can’t keep everyone cooped up in here because of it.” He finished.

Ellie stepped out from around the corner. She knocked on the door frame. Blake looked up. Maria was turning around. “Now’s not the time- Ellie?”

Ellie let out a nervous chuckle. “Hey Maria.”

Ellie opened her arms and Maria pulled her in for a bone crushing hug. Ellie was definitely getting a lot of them today. She was glad none of her ribs were broken. “How? How are you here?”

“Wasn’t easy.” Ellie mumbled.

“I can’t imagine it was. My god Ellie. It’s been what? Two year since you left?” Maria tried but couldn’t put a number to it.

Blake awkwardly excused himself from the private matter and ran like a motherfucker down the street. 

“Something like it.” Ellie gripped Maria’s shirt.

After they separated she looked at the group. “Quite the group, Ellie.”

“Some stayed with the trucks.” She pointed in the vague direction of the gates. 

Maria glanced out The window, but it would be impossible to see the gates from here anyway. There was a slight bend in the road so the view wasn’t direct.

“Father, son, and a surgeon.” Ellie told Maria. Just so she knew what to expect when she eventually met them.

“Maria I was wondering if we could talk?” Ellie asked.

“Of course! What do you need?” 

“A place to stay the night. Maybe longer?” Ellie asked.

Maria laughed. It was the first thing Ellie asked her when she and Joel came back after their failed trip to finding the Fireflies. 

“Yes, you can have a place to stay the night.”

Maria pulled some paper from a messy pile only she could navigate. “We actually just got done redoing a few houses, Umm.” She looked at the papers. “Actually it's just a road down from where you live.” She said to Ellie.

Maria looked at the group. Then at Ellie. “Technically people wanting to live here need to be under quarantine for 24 hours and vetted.” 

“Maria I-they haven’t been bitten. I can vouch for them.” Ellie explained.

“I’m just messing with you. 3 be ok?” She looked at the group.

The group didn’t seem to register the question. Ellie cleared her throat. “3 houses. I’d that enough?”

Nora answered before anyone could. “Yes. Mel, Manny, his father, and I can take one. Owen, Abby. I assume you want your own place?”

Ellie looked at Yara and Lev. “You two can have your own home.”

Lev two fists and gave a small pump with them. Finally he wasn’t gonna be cooped up in that cab anymore. Being on the road for that long really messes with someone’s patience.

Abby looked at Ellie with a puzzled face. “What about you?” Ellie's been gone years. They’d probably have cleared out her house and put someone else in it. Right?

“No, I still have my place. Right?” She asked Maria.

“Yes. Joel couldn’t bring himself to move anything belonging to you. No one could.” Maria looked down, recalling the painful memories of them mourning the loss of the person standing in front of her.

Ellie turned to the others. “I’ll show you where the houses are. Be passing my home too.”

On their way out they got more stares and others not so secretly started whispering among each other. They retrieved the others and headed out.

On their way Ellie kept an eye out for a few other people. She eventually saw someone she recognized and was friendly enough to talk to. At least she left that way.

“Hey, Brandon.”

Brandon looked up and stumbled back a few steps. “Do you know where Dina is?”

“Umm yeah. She was uh, spending the night at the north route next to the statue with Jesse. They’re to be back tomorrow around 1pm?” He looked like he saw a ghost.

“With Jesse?”

“Yes.”

“Ok.” Ellie pushes past him and gestured for the others to follow. 

Abby raised an eyebrow. “Ellie, are you ok? Isn’t Jesse Dina’s ex?” 

“What? No, I’m fine. Completely logical. They know how each other works. Like us.” Ellie told Abby.

Abby knew it bothered her. It may not have seen obvious but Abby could read Ellie like a polygraph. Ellie could probably read Abby too. 

Abby watched Ellie’s hurried state. Abby hated to admit it but that would seem kind of logical to get back together, wouldn’t it? Ellie was gone for over a year. It was around two actually. Abby never met Dina personally but would it be wise to reserve yourself even if you knew the person you were reserving yourself for was gone? Well believed to be gone.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I accidentally added chapter 37 which was just a copy and paste of 36. Don’t know how I did it but I deleted it immediately I hope no one gets hopeful.


	37. Chapter 37

Ellie brought them to the houses and showed them around, kind of. Mainly told them they had electricity and water. That they were free to do what they wanted and there was no one regulating anything.

For instance, once Mel heard that there was running water she called dibs and locked herself in the bathroom. Nora was using the one down stairs.

“Can’t believe you lived here.” Abby was looking at the craftsmanship of what looked to be an antique shelf. But she wasn’t sure, could be a replica.

“Took a while when I first got here. Kept stealing jerky.” 

The others acknowledged it but didn’t really say anything. “Dina tells it better.” 

Ellie shifted her bag on her back. She was still wearing it, mainly because she didn’t want to take it off. It felt odd to be comforted by something used for fighting. She was safe.

“I’ll let you guys settle in and show Abby and Owen their place. Along with you two.” She pointed to the siblings. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” She turned to walk away but Abby gently touched her shoulder so as to not startle her.

“Thank you.” 

Owen nodded and agreed. “Thank you.”

“Really got us out of a tight spot El.” 

Emanuel Sr grabbed her hand and shook it. “Sì, you gave me mi son. No more deployments.”

She took his hand and shook it. “Please, I didn’t do anything.” Ellie put his hand down. “We all came here together.”

Abby scoffed at the blasphemy coming from Ellie. “You could have left us years ago when Isaac lifted your debt.”

“I needed a vehicle.”

“Coulda left when Isaac offered you one after. But you didn’t.”

“I needed supplies for Jackson.”

“Admit Ellie.” 

“Admit what?”

“That we grew on you. That you couldn’t live without us.” Abby had a smirk on her face. 

“Maybe.” 

“Maybe? Admit Ellie. You love us.” Abby pointed to herself, then to the others standing around her. “You even love the bathroom horsing medics.”

“I heard that!” Nora shouted through the door.

Ellie smiled. Not a wide fake grin but a small genuine smile. That made Emanuel Sr smile, seeing her back home. 

Lev started poking around and looked around the kitchen. By now Abby and Owen were cleaning up. So was Yara, once she was shown how to use the facet.

They were changing into the clothes they took from the old hunter base. Some of the stuff was still clean so they used it. Beats the WLF uniforms that have seen better days.

“What’s this for?” Lev pointed to a stove.

“It’s used for cooking. Like fire but with electricity instead.” Ellie told him.

“What’s electricity?”

“Umm, a current. An energy.” 

“Like ocean current?” 

Ellie wanted to bang her head against a wall. Nothing against him, she just didn’t know how to explain it. “Not like that. It transfers through a conductor material like metal or water.”

“What’s a conductive material?”

“Electricity, a form of energy resulting from the existence of charged particles (such as electrons or protons), either statically as an accumulation of charge or dynamically as a current.” Manny told him.

“As for current any movement of electric charge carriers, such as subatomic charged particles.” 

Ellie raised her eyebrows. “Impressive.”

“I just found a dictionary.” He waved a heavy book he held just on the other side of the door. “You give me too much credit El.”

“You’re right, I do.”

“How do you use a stove?” Lev asked. 

Ellie thought for a moment. “I’d actually be better to show you.” She realized they literally just moved in. “Later, when there is food that needs to be cooked in the house.”

“I’d there a place for rations or something?” Manny asked her.

“What? No. Once we’re cleaned I can take us to the Tipsy Bison.” Ellie told him. 

Ellie couldn’t remember the last time she stepped under running water. Real, clean, hot, running water. Just looking at the floor she could see the water turn brown and grey.

Ellie didn’t bother looking in the mirror. She knew what was staring back.

“You ready?” Manny asked her.

Ellie was puking on a jacket. Not the WLF one but another one. A clean one. “Yeah.”

Ellie walked in first and turned to make sure the others were with her. 

_ *Smash* _

Everyone turned to see Seth. Broken glass at his feet. They followed his gaze to see the ghost he was staring at. A person they mourned and moved on from, standing in the middle of the room.

“You’re here.” Seth said.

“Hey,” she scratched the back of her neck. “Can we have a table?”

“Uhh yes.” He pointed to a corner with a booth. “I’ll just move a table.” 

He moved a table to the one near the booth. Ellie helped him but didn’t look at him, at least not in the beginning. “You’re here.”

“Yeah.”

“Umm, a lot has changed since you were here. Both good and bad.” He told her.

“What do you mean?” 

“More travelers have come to stay. But they’re more-“

“Dad, I'm heading out, do you want me to pick anything up on the way back?” A young woman asked.

Ellie looked to see the young woman. It was Lisa, Seth’s daughter. Holding another woman’s hand. That surprised Ellie.

“No, just be safe.” He looked back at Ellie. “Like I said, things change.”

“How long have they been together?” Ellie had left the group to the table as she talked to Seth. She was just at the bar so not too far away.

“Few weeks now. Other woman showed two months ago.” Seth grabbed a glass and poured Ellie a drink. Recently had to put a few cows down. Got too old so red meat it's what's coming. That good?”

“Yes, that’s good.” 

“So I heard you were bit, but you’re here.”

“Yeah, been an odd few years.” Ellie didn’t really want to talk to him about her adventures of Seattle and her immunity. “I should get back to the others before they break something.”

She sat next to Abby who was talking to Owen. Manny smiled and raised his glass to her. A way of thanking her before polishing it off.

The night passed relatively quickly with them eating a hot meal with an alcohol of their choice. “Remember when we fought that thing in the basement?” Abby nudged Ellie. 

“How can I forget. That thing made me shit my pants.” 

“Nah El, that’s how you always smell.”

“Fuck you too Manny. I’ll be sure to push you into a burn pile.” She told him.

The night grew old and they found themselves in the house. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning.” 

Ellie grabbed her bag with the shotgun and jacket. She walked into her area. Joel’s shed turned into a living place for her. 

She placed her bag down and walked to the couch to look at the table. Various comics were strewn about. She saw a few drawings she was working on. The inspiration was lost to the sands of time. 

Ellie walked to her bed and pulled the picture from the board. Dina, Jesse, and her all looked so happy in that image. The barnfire if her memory served correctly.

She looked in the closet to find a pair of converse sneakers. She changed out of her boots and placed them next to the bed. Walking in them felt odd to her. She could feel the pencil she stepped on and the slope in the floor.

She folded the jacket up and placed it next to her boots. One could argue the floor was no place for a jacket but the floor was probably cleaner than the jacket. 

Ellie went to her desk to look at the books open. A picture of an astronaut was on the page. It showed what the gear was and how it was used. 

The room was foreign yet familiar. She remembered where everything was but it was like an invisible force holding her back from just settling back in. Like she felt that this wasn’t her room anymore. A lifetime ago. This room belongs to a different person.

Knocking interrupted her train of thought and she pushed the book away. “It’s open.”

The door opened and Joel took a step in. “Sorry it’s cold. Just uhh, didn’t see the need to heat it when…”

“It’s fine. Didn’t even notice it.”

He looked down to see her shotgun. She picked it up and looked at it. Scratched into it was ‘Endure and Survive’. He was glad some of Ellie survived.

“Careful with that.” Ellie reached out but didn’t go towards him. She was leaning against her desk. “Has a hair trigger.”

Joel had an amused face. “I’ll be careful.” He set the gun back down next to the bag.

Ellie walked forwards and picked it up. She took the magazine out and racked the slide, ejecting the one in the chamber. She placed the gun next to her bed. 

“It’s good to have you back.”

Ellie smiled and looked at Joel. “It’s good to be back.”

“Plan on going for a drive?”

“No, why?”

“Still wearing them gloves.” He pointed to her hands.

“Oh, I was bitten a while back. I didn’t want, you always had me-“

“It’s ok. Ellie, I wanted to say that I’m sorry.” He paced a bit further into the room.

“Sorry for what?” Ellie placed the shell on the table and walked over to a shelf and placed a zippo lighter on it. The one with the bullet. Her good luck charm.

Joel’s eyebrows were noted together. “I, I’m sorry I drove you away.” He whispered to her.

She looked at him and rubbed her arm. Not the right one thankfully or Joel probably would have broken down then and there. “I’m here now.”

“Ellie. I’m,” he waved his hand in front of himself trying to come up with words. “You’d of come home if I didn’t…” 

Talking was not Joel’s favorite but he felt he owed her this much. He couldn’t look her in the eye. He felt like he didn’t deserve it. 

“Joel, I’m here.” 

When she hugged him it was the breaking point. It was only them in here. No one else. A small cry came from him as he held her. 

He remembered all those years ago when he prayed for Sarah to survive. Then when Ellie was reported MIA he didn’t pray. Didn’t plead with the universe. He accepted it and moved on. That’s what he told himself. But here she was. 

He glanced through blurred vision to see her looking up at him with a weak smile. He quickly wiped his tears. Ellie broke the silence. “I was wondering if I could stay the night at your place? Maybe watch a movie?”

“Yes, I’d like that.” He patted her left shoulder. That burn bothered him. He felt like it was he who put it on her. She didn’t come home because of him.

Ellie walked into Joel’s home with him behind her. “Ellie, I was thinking Savage Starlight the movie. Maybe Star Wars. If you’re up for it I found the 1984 Transformers movie.” 

Ellie appreciated that he was listing off everything nerdy and science fiction but she really didn’t need to focus on her. “Still have those James Bond movies?”

“Yes!” The amount of love he was feeling for her could not be measured. She was everything he lost. Himself.

They fell asleep watching the movies so when Ellie woke up she was greeted with the blue screen at the end of a disk. She guessed it was around 4am. Her watch said 4:12. 

She told the others she’d meet them early. This was early, but she didn’t want to leave Joel so she just stayed, laying next to him on the couch. Just till 4:30. Then she’d go to the others. Abby would be out cold but she knew Owen would be up, or getting up.

Around 4:25 she was getting up and accidentally woke Joel up. “You’re up early.”

“Promised I’d meet them early in the morning.”

“Be safe.” Was all he could manage. 

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this isn’t what everyone wants. Martial arts, school, work, group, and paperwork for the new job is tiring. I have my entire schedule flipped on it’s head and I’m stressed. I’m surprised I even uploaded at this point. I nearly had a breakdown in school because a teacher said a phrase(not a bad one) and it reminded me of something. Excuses excuses. I’m getting there.
> 
> Are there any typos?
> 
> I’m tired! Don’t say ‘take a nap.’ Not that kind of tired you fuck wads!


	38. Ain’t No Grave That Can Hold Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another semi short one.

Ellie borrowed a few boxes of cereal and headed over to Abby and Owen’s new home. She knocked softly and Owen opened the door. “You went kidding when you said early.”

He was wearing pants and had unlaced shoes on. “Brought breakfast.”

“Thanks. Abby isn’t getting up anytime soon.” He looked in the direction of the bedroom.

“How’s the house?”

“Good. Way bigger than anything we had in Seattle.” He gestures for her to go into the kitchen with him. 

He grabbed a tupperware and a cereal box. He offered Ellie a bowl but she declined. She just sat across from him and watched him eat, not in a creepy way.

They really did cut down on eating on the road. She could see his ribs. He wasn’t starving but he was thinner. So was the rest, including her, but she was still full from last night.

“What’s the plan for today?”

Thinking show you guys around and maybe get you guys in the books.” 

“Wait, we’re not in the books? I thought we were.”

Ellie made an unsure face. “Maria dropped protocol. I vouched for you guys so I’m not sure the paperwork is great.” She explained.

“Oh, thanks for that.” 

“No problem. You guys deserve a break.” 

Owen looked at her. Tired eyes were staring at him. He let a small grin show and finished off the cereal. “You deserve a break, just like the rest of us.”

“Hmm, maybe.” 

Ellie and Owen shot the shit for a while, waiting for the others to get up. Ellie was kind enough to make sure the others had a box of cereal. She’d show them where to get actual food later.

Abby could be heard walking down the hall and into the living room. “Ellie? What are you doing here?”

“Just dropping off some breakfast. After I can show you guys around. Where to get stuff, ya know?”

Abby didn’t hurry seeing as Owen and Ellie were in a deep conversation about who killed more infected in their life. Really just a way to pass time, but they looked so content. Sitting on a couch and talking. Like the fungus never existed.

Soon everything was sorted out. Abby, Owen, Lev, and Yara were with Ellie. Nora and Mel somehow found themselves working in medical. How they found it Ellie didn’t know. Emanuel Sr. Decided to spend his time in the library. Alice would be with Ellie.

Ellie was walking with the others down the streets. “And over there is the daycare. Gets pretty small when you live here long enough.” 

The clanking of a hammer hitting metal was in the background. The blacksmith, he was hammering away when he looked up and saw the group talking. The force in his swing was lost and he hit his thumb. “Fuckin hell.” He whispered.

“He looks like he’s seen a ghost.” Manny said.

“Him? That’s Richard. Blacksmith as long as anyone can remember.” The man had salt and pepper hair and wrinkles on his face. But his short sleeves showed he could probably knock a man out with a single punch.

Abby glanced around. “So when’s Dina getting back?”

“In the afternoon.” Ellie tried to remain optimistic. She was going to be back today. With Jesse. Ellie Felt like crap. She should be happy that Dina and Jesse were making patrol routes together. 

She pushed it from her mind and focused on the fact that Dina would be back. “I can show you guys some of the other parts of town.”

“Through here.” She held the gates open to the cemetery so they could take a shortcut. 

“Woh. You guys have a real cemetery?” Flashes of burning bodies came across the Salt Lake crew’s minds. Friend, foe, infected or not. The bodies were always burned. The closest thing to a funeral would be watching your friend's corpse bride in a pile of bodies. At least WLF or considerate enough to keep the enemy and the allies separate.

Ellie nodded. “People more often died of age or illness than a war.” 

“It’s fresh.” Owen said. 

He was standing over a small patch of dirt disturbed recently. What really caught his attention was how small the patch of dirt was. No adult would be able to be buried in a hole with such a small diameter.

“Must have been sick.” Ellie said. She hoped it wasn’t a kid that snuck outside because they thought they could handle it. It happened a few weeks after she arrived. A thirteen year old reasoned if Ellie survived then surely he could. That sadly wasn’t the case.

“There’s flowers on that one.” Lev pointed out.

He was right. What person would be bringing flowers to a grave in this weather? They must have been grown indoors because it was too cold to grow flowers like this. They were beautiful. Clearly still fresh.

Out of curiosity they walked over and looked at the stone.

“This is awkward.” Manny mumbled.

**Ellie Williams**

That was what was engraved on the stone. Alice sniffed the stone, then looked at Ellie as if to say she didn’t understand. 

Ellie nelt beside Alice and rubbed her head. Then she picked one of the flowers up. Ellie Williams. It was a surreal feeling. Seeing the place where your body should be buried. 

It felt right in some odd way. To have a gravestone. She wiped the nonexistent dirt from her name, feeling the engraving. Any passerby would think she was mourning the loss of the person. 

Footsteps could be heard and she put the flower down and stood. Looking at the person approaching them. Dina.

Dina. She was standing there. Staring at the group of strangers huddled around Ellie’s grave. But at the center was Ellie, not dead but alive.

Dina dropped the flowers in her hand and strode forwards. 

“Wha?” Dina looked her over. “How? I saw you get bit Ellie!” Dina wanted so badly to jump on her and hug her. But the logical side of her told her not to. There was a group of strangers and that in itself was suspicious.

Dina looked at where the bite was sustained only to see a burn scar instead. She gasped at the sight of it. That type of would was not something to shrug off. Yet she could see Ellie pushing through it.

Ellie approached Dina and hugged her. Dina gasped, her arms hanging by her sides for a few moments. Then she shoved Ellie off but didn’t let go. She ran her hands down Ellie’s arms. Then back up to her face. Ensuring that this was not a hallucination. 

“Dina. It’s me.”

“How?” Dina had tears in her eyes. 

“I’m immune. I told you in the basement. Remember?” 

“Jesus!” Dina let go and put a hand on her head, looking away. “I thought you were just fucking with me!” 

Technically Ellie was fucking her but that was besides the point. “Dina-“

“Why didn’t you come back?” She turned to face Ellie once more. Pain could be seen in her eyes. 

“I had to get the supplies?” That was the excuse she’d told herself for so long that was the first thing that came to mind. 

“Fucking supplies? Ellie. You left Jackson, Joel, You left me. All for supplies.” Dina’s breathing was deep. 

Ellie couldn’t meet Dina’s glare. 

“Say something.” Dina told her. Her voice cracked and she choked back a sob. She wiped away her tears and flicked her hand to the side. 

“Things just kept happening.” Was all Ellie could manage.

“Like what?”

“This.” Ellie pointed to her neck. 

“When?”

“When I got to Seattle. The WLF?” She wanted to know if Dina knew anything about them.

“WLF? Blake is from there. For god’s sake Ellie did you fight in that war?!” 

Ellie rubbed the back of her neck. “Yes.”

Dina was absolutely speechless. “I, I can’t. I need time.” She turned and walked away.

“Dina wait!” Ellie was going to chase after her but Abby put a hand on her shoulder. 

“Give her time. Maria said you’ve been gone for years. This is a lot for her.” 

Ellie nodded and sighed. “That coulda gone better.”

Owen picked up the flowers she dropped. “Probably didn’t help that she was on her way to mourn you.” He placed the flowers with the others on her gravestone. 

“At least she knows Ellie is back.” Manny said. 

Ellie nodded. At least the hard part was over. Right?

——Night—Time——

Ellie was sitting on her bed staring at the picture of the three of them. She realized that she never saw Jesse. She felt bad for not seeking him out. But he didn’t seek her out. Granted most of the town probably thought she was still dead. 

Knocking pulled her out of her thoughts. “It’s open!” 

She expected Abby or Manny to walk in. Maybe have Alice accompany them. What she wasn’t expecting was Dina. “Hey.”

“Hey.” Ellie put the picture down and stood.

“Can I come in?”

Ellie waved her in. “What’d you want to talk about?”

Dina opened her mouth and closed it a second later. She wasn’t sure how she wished to proceed with this conversation. So much needed to be covered yeah she couldn’t say a damn thing. Only stare at the other like a deer in headlights. 

“Dina, you ok?”

“Heh, am I ok? Ellie, you’re back from the dead.”

“Sorry I didn’t return sooner. Just no one knew of my immunity and it was easier to not come back.” 

Dina nodded and leaned against Ellie’s bed. “So those people you were with. They are from Seattle too?”

“Yes. Abby saved me. Multiple times actually.” 

“She the blonde one?”

“Yeah. Convinced Isaac not to leave me for dead.” Ellie recalled having Abby sticking up for her. 

“Wasn’t he the leader?”

“Yes.”

“I was told by others that he was killed by a ruthless traitor.” 

Ellie perked up at hearing that. “What’d you hear?”

“Nothing much. Few people here come from Seattle. Say that she was ruthless to the Scars. Until she turned and massacred them on a beach.” Dina recalled.

“Anything else?”

“Uh yeah. A few Scars live here too.”

“Seraphites.”

“Huh?”

“They call themselves Seraphites. Scars is a derogatory term.” Ellie explained.

“Oh. Well some Seraphites live here too, they said she killed their elder and soon to be married. Young.” Dina sighed.

“Must have been crazy in Seattle. With a war going on and a crazy lunatic killing everything in her path.” Dina told Ellie.

“It was an experience.” Ellie nodded and walked up the kitchen area. Why? She had no clue. Everything had gone bad or stale. Well stale was better than nothing. Something to focus on.

“Ellie,” Dina rubbed her arm. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too.” Ellie put the cup down. 

Dina sighed and hugged Ellie from behind. Her face was buried in Ellie’s upper back. She turned and let her cheek rest against it instead. “Ellie. Don’t leave. Not again.”

Ellie placed her gloved hands over Dina’s. She felt disgusted with herself. For staying away, for running from her past, for lying to Dina. Yet she smiled and leaned into Dina’s touch. “I won’t.” 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I was thinking of having a chapter on Dina. More specifically what she was doing in between that small time jump. That would be a shortish chapter but it would iron out the change in behavior. Just my thought process. 
> 
> Also I was listening to the song “Coming Home” by Hollywood Undead. If anyone is interested.


	39. Final?

Dina and Ellie were sitting on Ellie’s bed. Dina couldn’t help but look over Ellie. The scars went from her lower jaw to under her shirt. How far they went under was a mystery. A mystery that she wanted to find out.

“Ellie.”

“Hmm?”

“Can I stay?”

“Yeah. You can.” Ellie looked back at the spare room on her bed. Ellie lay back, her legs still hooked over the bed. She thought of everything that had happened these few days.

Dina leaned back so she was face to face with Ellie. “Going to bed already?”

“Probably not. Spent so much time keeping watch, don't think my body can get more than a few hours of rest.” Ellie explained. 

Ellie adjusted how they were laying on the bed. Now they were resting against the headboard. Dina was closer to the wall. “Plan on keeping those on all night?”

Ellie pulled a gloves hand away from Dina’s grasp. “It’s covering a bite mark. It’s pretty ugly. Healed all fucked up with teeth marks and cysts. Better it it stays on.”

“Oh yes. The scar on your arm and 2 years away were fine. But a bite mark on the hand? That’s a deal breaker Williams.” Dina exasperated.

“Ok, don’t get smart.” Ellie had a smirk on her face. 

“It’s the smartness you fell for.”

“Always.” 

Dina leaned in and kissed Ellie. It took a good moment for Ellie to process what was happening. Then to act on it. 

Ellie kissed back, but it felt forceful. Not because she didn’t love Dina. Just, it’d been a really long time since she had any practice. It didn’t help that some small part of her still believe this to be some dream that she’d wake up from eventually. 

Ellie wanted to focus on the here and now. But how could she? She didn’t deserve all this. Ellie pushed those thoughts away and focused on Dina. 

Dina broke off the kiss before Ellie could. “Good to have you back Ellie.”

Ellie sat up and nudged Dina with her head. Dina nudged back before kissing Ellie again, but more passionately. Ellie started to move forward when Dina shoved her back and straddled her. Her back hit the wood, causing Ellie to gasp in surprise at the impact. An audible thump could be heard. 

“Dina.” Ellie grabbed the others forearms. “Dina!” Ellie said her name for more forcefully than she hoped it would come out.

Dina halted her advances. 

Ellie readjusted herself. “I, just not tonight.” 

“Oh, Umm.yeah. Sorry I didn’t mean to jump on you.” Dina sat back, but didn’t actually get off Ellie.

“Umm, Dina.” 

“Right.” Dina haphazardly rolled off Ellie. “Do you want me to…” she pointed at the door with her chin.

“No! No. You can stay.” 

“Thanks. I’ll be back.” She got up and went to the bathroom.

Once Ellie heard the door click shut she threw herself against her mattress and facepalmed. Why the hell did she fucking act that way? She’d think of Dina nonstop when she was out then she had the chance and she fucking rejects her.

Ellie felt on guard, cold, and hyper aware. She pulled the switchblade out and looked over the blade. It was worn and scuffed. It was also the thing that saved her life, and allowed Alice to track her scent. 

Ellie felt as if the backs of her ankles were burning. Under the bed was her AA-12 and boots. Along with the jacket, belt and push dagger. She reached under to feel the cold steel of the gun but didn’t pull it out. Knowing it was there helped put her mind at ease. 

She did however pull out the belt. An odd thing. It held so many conflicting emotions. It saves her from drowning but it was given to her by the enemy. But said event was just trying to protect those she cared about. Then again she did get pleasure out of doing her job.

Ellie pulled out the blade and inspected it. The blade was nicked from use that Ellie didn’t do. 

“That’s a cool belt.”

Ellie looked up to see Dina standing there. Hearing the word cool made her think of Lev. It really was a cold belt. Especially if it was taken for a simple object without a story. 

“Yeah. It is.”

She put the blade away and threw it under the bed. She’d clean later. “Where’d you get it? From the WLF?”

Ellie gave her a bit of a confused look. “How do you?”

“Blake and his brothers. Daniel and Oscar. Twins. They came from Seattle after the collapse with the help of some other people with scars.” Dina explained.

“Twins.” Ellie chuckled. What a joke the universe was playing. “What of the others?”

“I didn’t catch their names. They’re normally out hunting together and avoiding others. But they seem to know their way around. Better than the others with scars.” Dina explained.

Ellie hummed. Blake, Daniel, and Oscar might pose a threat to the Salt Lake crew. As for Seraphites, it depends on who they were loyal to, the Seraphite ways, or Nakita. Maybe they were fast learners. Maybe they knew of the old world. 

Ellie knew Dina was saying something and just agreed.

She needed to get this information to the others before things went sideways. The only impression Blake gave her was the one where he ran out after the reunion with Maria. She knew he was jabbing at Maria’s weak points. The low bastard. 

“Yeah.” Ellie mumbled.

Reminded her of Danny. He’d jab at anything. Call Manny a man whore and Abby a meathead. One time they had a disagreement and things were thrown. Took Jordan and Manny to hold him back. Nora and Mel had her. 

“Hmm. Yes.” She nodded to Dina.

She remembered her original train of thought. If Blake was like that then what were the brothers like. She started laying out plans in her mind. She’d need to meet the Seraphites to know what she was dealing with. 

“And then they lived happily ever after.” 

“What?”

“Ellie, I recited a summary of Cinderella.”

“Umm, it was great.”

“Ellie.” She was using that voice. “Were you ever listening?”

“Yes?”

“What was one thing I asked?”

“I thought you were reciting Cinderella.” 

“Ellie! I was asking you about Seattle. Never mind. It’s not really that important.” Dina waved away the question.

“No. What did you want to ask?”

“Did you really want to stay there? I mean you said you left because of the war but would you have stayed if there wasn’t one?” 

“Dina.” That was a difficult question. “No. I was always going to come back.” 

“What about the group? How’d you meet them?”

“Early in my two years. It was Abby who saved me. Nora and Mel took care of me. Manny and I were assigned explosives in base. Owen was deployed most of the time in the beginning. But Leah and Jordan were inseparable.” 

Ellie remembered how Jordan got that scar on his face. “I remember this one time I was getting my bandages changed when the huge guy started freaking out about an amputation and we had to hold him down until Mel could sedate him. Cut Jordan good. But at least Leah liked it.” 

“I never met those two.”

“Yeah.” Ellie looked down. “Killed on the radio,TV? It was a broadcast system. Found Jordan strung up and disemboweled. Leah shot to hell with arrows.”

Ellie looked at Dina. Perhaps she should have been a bit more vague about their deaths. 

“It was the Seraphites?”

“Yeah. They said people were nested with sin.” Ellie mumbled.

“Jesus. Are the people here safe? They said they were fine and we vetted them but do you think they are?” Dina was fucking worried. They had kids and they just let a bunch of psychos into the town. 

“They’re fine. If they agreed to live here. Just, let’s talk about it in the morning. When I can meet them.” Ellie told Dina.

Dina accepted that and lay down next to Ellie. “Can you tell me more about Seattle?”

“It rained. A fucking lot. Unless you had a concussion. Then it’d be bright and sunny.” 

“Sounds like you speak from experience.”

“Mmh.”

“How did you get the concussion?”

Ellie glanced at Dina, figuring out which story to tell her. In the end she decided with a summary. “Getting into fights with Seraphites.”

Dina got more comfortable, snuggling up against Ellie. Ellie let a small smile show briefly. She wrapped an arm around her and tried to clear her mind as she fell asleep.

Dina woke to a loud crack of thunder outside the window. She rubbed her eyes just in time to see a flash of lightning and another crack of thunder. A small groan came from Ellie.

“Haven’t had weather like this in a while.” She told Ellie.

When there was no response she saw the other was still asleep. Dina grinned and watched her. 

After a moment she saw the silhouette of Ellie scratching at her collar. Dina realized that Ellie never changed out of her clothes. She reached out and rubbed her right arm for proof. There was a flannel sleeve blocking her from touching skin.

She wanted to wake Ellie to tell her to at least take her shoes off but couldn’t bring herself to wake her. Ellie seemed to toss and turn though.

“Mm, Nah.” 

Dina raised an eyebrow. What was she trying to say? 

“Nakita.” She groggily said. 

Dina knew it was a name. Just who was this person to Ellie? She wasn’t going to wake Ellie up just to ask her. It wasn’t like it was bothering her. It was just a simple name. 

Just a name. She really shouldn’t let it get to her. She knew that. Ellie was here and clearly loyal to her. It’s not like Dina was perfect or anything.

**——-earlier———**

Dina walked out of the cemetery and pushed past Jesse who had no clue why she was so upset. He turned to follow her but stopped. 

He realized he should probably bring over something other than himself. He’d grab a few movies she liked out of his collection. Then they’d talk about it.

Dina slammed the door shut and leaned against it. She took deep breaths trying to get her breathing under control. She wiped the tears from her eyes and let her head hit the door. 

  
  


“What the guck Ellie.” She whispered to no one.

Dina paced around from the living room to the kitchen. She was happy, genuinely happy. She was fucking thrilled that Ellie wasn’t dead. Ecstatic! Why did she feel so angry and sad. She felt claustrophobic even though she knew damn well she wasn’t cornered.

_ *Knock*Knock*Knock* _

“It’s Jesse.”

Dina groaned. She loved the man but now wasn’t the time. She opened the door ready to tell him to give her space when she saw him holding a few movies. 

Now she’d really felt like a dick if she told him off. 

“Can I come in?”

Dina stepped to the side and pointed to the living room with her head. Her arms were crossed in front of her, trying to feel protected.

“Want to watch any movies?” He gave her that look. That look. The one with the concern and how he asked if she was alright. That fucking one.

“No.”

“Alright. Just talk?”

“Jesse. Thanks for coming over, but really, I don’t need anything.” 

“Dina. Just want to make sure you’re ok. Especially with all the new changes and the people from Seattle-“

“Ellie’s alive.” Dina interrupted him.

“What?”

“She’s alive.” 

“Did one of the new people say that? Dina you saw her get bit.” Jesse was looking rather concerned. He knew that Dina blamed herself for over two years now. He was afraid for Dina.

“She’s fucking immune Jesse.”

“How do you know?!” That came out a bit harsher than he meant. “Dina, you said she was but on the shoulder. It’s not like she could have amputated it.” He tried to reason with her.

“I talked with her in the cemetery. Jesse, she’s alive. Been alive for years.” 

“It was her?”

“Yes.” Dina sat on the couch and sighed. “Fighting a war in Seattle. I don’t, I don’t know.” Dina looked at the ground. 

Dina felt like a deer in headlights. Jesse is an amazing guy. Caring and attentive. He’s the perfect gentleman and she felt like shit. She loved him but she mourned Ellie.

Dina rubbed her head. She mourned the loss of Ellie for over a year. Only six months ago she and Jesse got back together. It was good. They weren’t on and off, they were steady and it was peaceful. Even though she fucking missed Ellie. 

Now Ellie’s back and it’s confusing.

How do you word my girlfriend is back from the dead and I want to get with her even though I’m pissed at her and I don’t know why. God she was fuming pissed at Ellie and wanted to scream, but she couldn’t do it. 

“Dina.”

“Yeah?”

“You should talk to her.”

I don’t know. She didn’t come back for two years. How can you look past that?” 

Jesse shrugged. “Probably a lot more happened. Just give it a chance.” 

“And you’re ok with it?”

“I’m the one that told you to do it.” 

“Are… you breaking up with me?” 

“Do you want it to be?” He offered.

“No. It just doesn’t seem fair to you.” Dina told him.

Jesse nodded, showing that he heard her. “It’s fine Dina.”

It was his turn to avoid eye contact. He wasn’t going to let his emotions beat him. Dina wasn’t his to claim and he wasn’t some asshole manipulator. But damn if he didn’t feel like shit. Being seconds was always a bother. Even though he knew going in he wasn’t her first choice it still hurt him to see her leave. 

He loves her and she just doesn’t reciprocate it. He accepts she chooses Ellie. He’s jealous of her but his joy for having her back in Jackson outweighed the negatives. 

“Say something.” Dina whispered to him. She noticed how he was staring at the floor.

“Just give her time.” Dina was happy with Ellie. He didn’t want to get in the way of that.

“Thank you Jesse.” Was thanks something you say after a breakup? This definitely felt wrong but he broke it off. 

She hugged him and thanked him again. 

He hugged back even though it hurt.

**—-Morning-At-Ellie’s—**

Ellie threw her legs over the bedside and realized she slept in her clothes. To be fair she hadn’t changed her clothes much on the road. She saw Dina laying in the bed next to her.

Ellie looked around. “Really need to pick up food.”

“Morning Ellie.”

“Morning Dina.” 

“What’s the plan for today?” Dina asked her.

“Tell the others WLF and Seraphites are here. After that I don’t know.” Ellie told her.

“Maybe we can try to pick up where we left off?”

“Thought we were already doing that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me and the story have the relationship of two parents that want to get a divorce but stay together for the sake of the child. I know there is still some loose threads and it’s definitely not the final I had pictured but this is kind of taking a toll on me and I think if I continue than it will get worse. By that I mean in writing and story. 
> 
> I’ll post the unused stuff on this story because it’s already here. I’ll just have CS for cut scenes. 
> 
> Any objections? I’ll answer in the comments.


	40. Removed Scene

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is going to be Bold text in the story. Ignore it. I was going to have multiple ideas in one doc but this is it for that particular one. 
> 
> Updating the cut scenes as promised. No particular order. They’ll be scenes where Ellie’s in Seattle and others not. 
> 
> Removed Scene: Home.

Ellie and Manny were side by side. The wind was in their hair as they blew by abandon cars and vehicles. Stores looted ten times over blurred by. Manny pulled in front of her and hit the breaks. He was a good distance ahead so she had more then adaquate time to stop.

Then he hit the gas and drove off. If he was gonna play that game then she would play. She sped up until she was side by side with him. When he glanced at her she pointed to a set of lights broken for over two decades then took off.

Manny grinned and went after her but couldn’t catch up. She had a head start anyway. So she clearly cheated with the race. Besides he had the parted bike. She had the fucking Harley Davidson. Of course she was gonna win. 

After some time Ellie put her left hand up and made a fist. Manny and Ellie quickly learned how to communicate with hands. Bikes were loud and thus the voice became obsolete. The others used the high beams to get their attention. They’d use the horn if necessary. It was loud but so were the damn bikes. 

Ellie pointed to the side of the road and pulled over. Kicking the stand out and turning to the others, who stopped right behind her. 

Owen got out. “What’s wrong?”

“We’re almost there. I recognized the stores we passed.” She explained.

Abby grinned. “That’s great we’re almost there! So why stop?”

“We’re in armored vehicles and motorcycles. We are peaceful but we don’t look like a diplomatic group. Slow movements. At least until they know who we are.”

“So play nice?” Mel asked. 

Ellie nodded. This was also a small stall tactic. What on earth could she say to everyone? She knew the explanation would go about as well as expected but that didn’t help. The worst part was she didn’t even care what the majority of them thought. She was worried about Dina.

Would the girl find it disgusting she was positive for the fungus? Would she think it was cool? Last time she tried telling her she thought it was a joke and laughed it off, threatening to give her a bite. 

Ellie started up the motorcycle and drove in the direction of Jackson. They would be passing the mansion on the way there. The place Joel and Tommy got stuck in when the blizzard hit. The memories seemed to come back like a broke dam, flooding in. The obscure conversations.

———— **PATH-ONE** ———

All of that training and conditioning went out the window and she stopped paying attention to her surroundings. The walls of Jackson coming into view. Ellie slowed her pace.

Out of no where an arrow or bolt flew through the air and into her upper arm mocking her from the bike. Manny made a circling motion with his left index finger up and pulled in front of Ellie.

The three vehicles made a triangle surrounding her. Ellie sat up and broke the arrow tip off and yanked out the rest of it. 

She sat up and Manny banged on the vehicle in front and the door swung open and Abby hauled Ellie in as Manny hopped in himself.

“What the fuck?! I thought you said they were peaceful!” Owen yelled.

“It’s been a while!” Ellie hadn’t been here for over a year. Maybe two. How was she to know this would happen? Manny helped take off the jacket.

The radio crackled to life and Mel was on the other end. “Is Ellie alight?” 

Ellie grabbed the radio out of Owen’s hand. “Fine. Stay in the vehicle until I say.” Then abruptly shut the radio off. Not her finest moment.

They looked out the window to see some men on the top of the wall. Ellie grabbed a hunting rifle from Abby and used the scope to see what was going on.

She couldn’t hear what they were saying obviously but she could see them arguing with someone else. Someone on the ground. Then a man came up. Tommy.

“Drive to the front.” Ellie told them.

“Are you crazy? You just got shot at.” Manny pointed to her arm.

“Blond man with the tied back hair is Tommy. He knows me.” She clarified.

“What if they just shoot us?” Abby asked.

“Just do it.” 

Slowly they got closer to the gates. Then stopped. The men on the top had their guns trained on them. “Recognize any of them?” Owen asked.

Ellie huffed. “Just let me do the talking.”

She opened the door slowly and raised her hands. She got out and saw them looking at her. 

“Where’s Tommy?” It was a question but sounded like a demand. 

The gate opened and he walked out. “Right here.”

She turned to him. His hair was longer but he was still Tommy. “Holy shit.” Was all he said. “It’s you.” 

Ellie dropped her arms and turned to face him and quickly walked to him. Her arms out the same as his. Tommy dropped the gun he had and went to her. 

He pulled her in for a tight embrace. “Oh Jesus. We… Ellie.” He held on for another second before he looked at her. He immediately saw the wound on the arm. 

“Shit we gotta get you inside!” 

“It’s nothing, Tommy.” Ellie tried to brush the wound off. 

“Ellie I’m so sorry it happened. The watchmen said they saw an enemy and fired. First day and last as a watchman.” He told her.

“How long has he been here?” 

“Month and a half. Didn’t expect him to go against every goddamn rule of newcomers.” Tommy cursed.

“Tommy. What about them?” She pointed to the trucks.

“They can come.” He turned to the others. “Open the gates! They’re friendly.” He shouted.

Ellie gave a gesture to follow. 

Tommy looked Ellie over. Wherever she’d been, it had done a number on her. Scars on her face and arms. Her arm, Tommy stared at the arm with wide eyes. 

Ellie quickly saw what he was staring at and slowed her pace, covering her arm. Tommy raised his gaze but quickly saw something else. A scar on her collar. 

WRATH

“Fuck.” Ellie mumbled and turned to the trucks.

She held her injured arm and walked to them driving in. She opened a door and grabbed the jacket that she previously pulled off. “Fuck, the bike.” She mumbled.

Owen immediately hopped out. “I’ll get it.” Then ran off before she could go after it.

“Thanks!” She called after him. She turned to Manny and used her head to tell him to get his bike as well.

Tommy was behind her. “Ellie, we need to get you to medical.” He tried to put an arm on her other arm but she pulled away.

“Thanks Tommy.” She smiles at him. “But I’ll go to Nora and Mel.”

“Who are they?”

“Surgeon and a nurse.” Ellie turned and pointed to the side of the wall where they should park. Looking around Ellie realized things changed. Not the place but the faces.

Lot of faces are unrecognizable. Some seemed familiar while others were completely out of the blue. One thing caught her eye was a few people with scars on their faces. They locked eyes but Tommy broke the odd staring contest. 

“Quite the crew.” 

  
  


Manny and Owen came in on the bikes while Abby got out of the vehicle with the mount. The troop transport had two younger people with scars and an older gent come out. Finally the last vehicle two women came out. They rushed to Ellie.

“For fuck sake Ellie!” Mel cursed.

Nora was looking at the arm. “Shoulda just jumped out and looked at it.” She mumbled.

“I didn’t want you getting hurt.” Ellie told them.

Mel and Nora laughed. “Us hurt?” Nora asked.

Mel shook her head as they walked to the truck with the medical supplies brought with them. “You’re the one walking in with a machete slash to the back and a broken nose.” 

Ellie roller her eyes. “At least it wasn't the buckshot.” She referenced when she came in with an arm full of it. Luckily she was shot from a good distance away so the damage wasn’t too bad.

“If you ever get shot with a shotgun shell again, I’m ending you.” Mel said as she pulled the jacket from her and Nora started cleaning the wound. It was wrapped within minutes.

“Thanks.” Ellie reaches out for her jacket. 

“Uuu uhh.” Mel pulled it away. “It’s drenched in blood and dirt from the fall.” 

“What am I supposed to wear?” They knew Ellie wasn’t a self conscious person but her scars were something she thought about. Mainly she didn’t want to explain them or get stared at more than normal.

Abby got done answering Lev and Yara’s questions when she headed to Ellie sitting in the truck. Tommy, that was his name, was being kept at a distance. Not forcefully but Manny would get in the way and ask him some obscure question when he wanted to go over.

Abby pushes past Manny and day next to Ellie. Abby pulled off her jacket and gave it to Ellie. Just a friendly gesture, she knew Ellie was trying to hide the burn.

“Thank you.” Ellie quickly threw the jacket on with a bit of help from Abby.

“You see the Seraphites when we got in?” Ellie asked.

“What about the others on the gate.” Owen asked. “They look familiar.”

Ellie nodded. 

“They’re from Seattle.” Nora said. “I recognize one as Chase. The others I don’t know but recognize.”

“So Wolves and Seraphites live here?” Lev asked Ellie.

Ellie shrugged. “Guess so.” 

By now Tommy got passed Manny and approached Ellie. Ellie looked up at Tommy. “So, umm, where’s Joel and Dina?”

“Oh! They’re out on patrol. The longer route with the overlook. They were staying the night but-actually send a party out to get them back.”

“Wait!” Ellie called out. “Don’t do that.”

Tommy gave her a look. “Aren’t you excited to see ‘em?”

“Just need to sort some things out.” Without a doubt she wanted to see Joel and Dina but she was not gonna forget that they were both Seraphites and Wolves here. She needed to ensure there would be no trouble with anyone.

Manny leaned against the truck. “Getting weird looks El.” 

“I know.” She saw others watching from a distance. Trained eyes spotting the people hiding behind objects and in windows. She was tracking everyone’s movements and what they were doing. Not being aware would be a lethal mistake. Nearly cost her earlier that day.

“I’m sure they’re just curious about y’all. Big group riding in. Bound to stir up some commotion.” Tommy reasoned out. Under normal circumstances that would be it but these weren’t normal circumstances.

“How long have they been here.” Ellie used her chin to gesture to the small group standing off to the side of the road. 

“Few months now. Came with the Sectorphites on horses.” 

“Seraphites.” Ellie corrected him. “What’s their story?”

“Came here after fighting a war all the way in Seattle. Called themselves the Washington Liberation Front. Come ta think of it.” He looked at their jackets. “Part of the same faction?”

He seemed happy. “Something like that.” Manny crosses his arms. 

“So you left after Isaac was killed? Whole area was forced to disband.” Tommy thought he had the story.

Alice’s ears perked when someone walked by. Ellie looked at them. “How long Seraphites been here?”

“Round the same time. Apparently this crazy WLF member was hired by a traitor to kill all their elders and kids. Wolf of Seattle or some shit.” Tommy shrugged at the whole title.

The brand on Ellie’s hand seemed to burn as if she just got it. The smell of burning flesh coming back to her. “Must have been something.” She raised her eyebrows and adjusted the gloves she was wearing.

“Crazy.” Ellie muttered and pulled the Jacket tighter. It was cold out. That was reasonable right?

Ellie caught movement of another human and locked eyes only to see it was Maria! Ellie pushes herself off the truck and ran to her. 

Maria pulled Ellie in squeezing the life out of her. Ellie hugger in a similar fashion, but not using the hurt arm. “When I got word you were back.” 

She started to release Ellie but pulled her in for another hug. “I thought it couldn’t be true.” 

Maria looked at Ellie. Definitely looked like she’d been through it with what looked like a burn on her neck and part of her jaw. A scar on her cheek as well. Maria couldn’t see anything else with the jacket being zipped up and the gloves she wore.

“We thought you died.” Maria whispered.

Ellie looked down. Some days she felt it. “No, I’m alive.” Just saying she was alive seemed to shock her. Should have been dead a long time ago. 

Alice must have sensed her emotions because she walked over to Ellie and nudged Ellie’s hand. Ellie smiles and pet Alice, rubbing her head and back. She was feeling better already.

“Who’s this?” Maria asked.

“Alice.” Ellie answered. 

A man walked over to Maria. “Maria can I talk to you?”

“Really now?” What could be so important that they had to interrupt her reuniting with family?! 

“Maria, it's important and slightly urgent.” He said.

“Stop beating around the bush Zach. What’s the problem?” Maria glared at him. If looks could kill he’d have died ten times over. 

“Can we talk in private?”

“Just say it!”

Zach looked at Ellie. Ellie stares back at him. Zach, Zach was a familiar name. Why was it so familiar? Ellie was trying to link the name and face I a place when he started talking.

“Are you going to let them in? These are the people we warned you about.” He said in a hush tone but Ellie heard every word.

“Whatever it is you think you know you don’t.” Maria said.

“I know that they can’t be trusted.” He said.

Ellie squinted her eyes at him. “What do you mean ‘they’ can’t be trusted?” 

He turned to face her. “You now god damn well what I mean! I see what they got here!” He pointed to the town. “I’m not about to let you fuck it up.”

“You think I came here to do what?” She asked.

“You come to a new town to fuck it up. Just like Seattle!” He yelled.

Maria looked at Zach. “Stand down.”

“No. This newcomer has to go.”

Ellie sighed. “This isn’t new territory for me.” She took a step forward.

“Will I ain’t letting you fuck it up!” He shoved her back.

Owen shoved him hard. “Fuck off.”

“Make me.”

Practically the whole crew was ready to jump this guy. Alice was growling with her ears back as Abby and Manny got to Ellie’s side. Nora and Mel we’re approaching as well. Lev stayed back but had his fingers on the bow string. 

“Enough!” Maria Yelled. 

Zach huffed. This was a good town! Why the hell did a bunch of traitors show up? He knew this was a place of second chance but second chance for these people as well? 

  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Changed it to Removed Scene. Didn’t want anyone thinking it was a video cutscene. Also anyone see this crazy news? My god it looked like the beginning of an apocalyptic story.


	41. Removed scene

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had no clue where to put it but I wrote it. How’s life? Anyone got anything interesting? I need some excitement. If anyone got questions you know where they go.

Ellie was trying to get out of the building. The timers were set for 20 minutes. She’d primed an explosive on the man supports on the floors instructed by Manny. 

She also primed one in the basement. She climbed out only to be tackled and thrown to the side.

Quickly she was on her feet and looking at her attacker. It was Nakita. 

“Ellie?!” Her eyes were wide with shock. She shot her in the chest! Yes there were rumors of a scared young woman with a burned right arm running around that could breath spores, but that was a rumor. 

Nakita thought tactically as they circled. “So you’re the one who can breath spores?” It was a chance. But if that damned girl can survive her? The chances of spores getting her…. a possibly.

“So they did tell the others.” 

That was practically a confirmation for Nakita. “So you’re what? A demon?”

Ellie didn’t have time with her torturer. She looked at the timer synced with the bombs on her wrist. 3:11, she was supposed to be outside running away. Not having a conversation with Nakita about her immunity!

She grabbed her gun but Nakita threw her bow at her, hitting her in the face. Just as it fell Nakita was tackling her to the basement. 

They both plummeted into the darkness. They landed on wooden planks covering a hole. The planks broke and they fell into rushing water.

No longer were they at each other’s throats. They were trying to keep their heads above water. 

Finally they were washed into a part of the underground tunnel that wasn’t deep. They could crouch.

Nakita was a few yards in front of Ellie. Both were drawing breath in. “Ellie. You…”

There was a rumble in the ground and she’d have thought it was an earthquake, but knew it had something to do with the talk of explosives. The ground below gave out and they both fell into an underground system. 

Ellie landed with a thud on the concrete. The wind knocked from her lungs. She slowly sat up. Sunlight shown from a few holes in the wall. 

The tunnel must have been right below the surface with this section exposed to the surface due to the shifting of earth. Speaking of they, she looked in the direction of where Nakita should be. 

She saw a wall and a grated section of wall. She looked through to see Nakita looking around. She was holding her arm. Then she turned to Ellie. “Don’t suppose you’ll let me live?”

Ellie followed her gaze. Nakita was looking at the pistol in her hand. The Seraphite turned away to gage her surroundings some more. “If you’re gonna repay what I did or tried to do, make sure I’m of no use to you first.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“What it sounds like. Why do you think I kept you alive when I was clearly outvoted. You could have been of use.” Nakita said. 

“So you shoot me in the chest?” Ellie asked. 

“Yes, I was caught up in the moment. I saw what you did and went up the other flight of stairs. But I really did, do see just how capable you are.” Nakita explained. 

Ellie wanted so badly to put a bullet in this woman’s head. It would be pretty easy. She was stuck in a room with no cover. Her bow was lost in the scuffle so all she had was a knife and if Nakita managed to hack through steel bars with it then Ellie would be sure she wasn’t human.

“Ellie, look at my section. I can’t go anywhere even if I wanted to. So save that bullet for a clicker.” She said.

Ellie grunted and looked in the room. There was a sheer drop off 3 feet away from the grated wall. A door on the other side. It was wide enough Nakita couldn’t jump it. Guess Nakita was telling the truth. 

Ellie on the other hand had a door right to her right and went to it. When she tried it, it moved back and forth slightly. Damn thing was locked from the other side. 

Ellie walked back to the other side of the room. Maybe she could hack at the wall? No, it would take too long and she’d break everything before she got out. If she didn’t die of starvation.

There was a layout of the place.

“You are here.” She read. Looked like there was a maze of tunnels down here. Apparently the tunnel she couldn’t access due to the locked door went to the door in Nakita’s area. 

She turned her head at Nakita. She was leaning against the grate, looking at her. “The fuck you looking at?”

“Wondering if you’ll kill me or not. Beats starving any day.” She pushed off the grate. “You thinking what I’m thinking?”

“I’m wondering why I haven’t killed you yet!” She marched over and pulled out her gun. “ You’re fucking insane.”

“I’m insane? For what?! For wanting information to keep my people alive? Prepare for a possible impending attack? Huh? You tell me. Why aren’t you insane?” Nakita countered.

“You hang and disembowel people for starters.”

“They may do that. But I have not.” Nakita raised a finger pointing it at Ellie. Then losing it. 

“But you believe everything else.” Ellie told her.

“I pick and choose what to believe and why I stay.” Nakita said. Both of her hands rested on the bars now. “Don’t tell me you believe Isaac is gospel. You might believe what you’re doing is right. Have a friend or group of close friends. A benefit or two being with them. Safety in numbers, food, shelter, maybe a title of commander or captain. Even a good rep, you pick and choose. You forget the power abuse and all the other BS because the mind can do that.”

Ellie’s eyes widened. She hit the nail on the motherfucking head. Even if she didn’t have a title per say, she was known for her abilities. Had close friends and knew of the shit she went through with Isaac. “How?”

“Don’t think your situation is so unique. Right now I’m about as desperate to get out as you. So I’m thinking if you open the valve on the other side of your room and flood the place. The water goes through the grate and into my section filing this gap. I swim across and let you out.” Nakita told Ellie.

“How do I know you’ll even do it?”

“I keep my word.”

“Like you kept your word when I told you everything!” She banged the grate separating them. 

“So you won’t tell me.”

“Fuck you!” Ellie yelled at her.

“Ok, ok.” Nakita put a hand up in a calming gesture. “I’m sure you have someone that cares about you out there. I have someone I care about. Let’s call a temporary truce until we get out of these rooms.” 

“What’s stopping you from killing me?” Ellie asked again.

“My word. I want to get out of here and I don’t think it would be a good idea to threaten the person that had the valves to our survival. You do want to survive as well, right?” Nakita sarcastically asked.

“Who’s so important you’d let me live?”

“My sister. She needs me.” Nakita told her.

“Your sister? What happened to her?”

“Family drama. You can think over the plan as many times as you want just try to come to a verdict before we die of starvation or some illness we’ll no doubt get drinking the water down here.” She said.

Ellie looked around and sat on a 5 gallon bucket. What was wrong with her? She was talking with a deranged woman. A cult member. But the panic at the back of her mind was there. Not coming back and the others wondering what happened. Not seeing Joel, or Dina. 

Waiting for someone else to find their bodies. Fuck! Why was this the option. It reminded her of all the times she couldn’t swim and Joel needed to jump through hoops for her to get across water. She wished he were here now. He’d probably have a better plan.

She stood and walked back over. “You won’t kill me?”

“Not until we meet again on the battlefield.”

Ellie walked over and opened the two valves. The broken pipes spewed water out into the floor. The puddle slowly getting larger. This was going to take a long while.

“I got a question for you, Ellie.”

“I’m not telling you what Isaac’s planning.” Ellie said without thinking. 

“Glad you know me so well. But no. Who was the blonde that saved you?” She asked. 

“Why?”

“She seems familiar, an older self.” Nakita continued.

“Really?” Ellie imagined Nakita regularly killing people. She wasn’t recalling a single night years ago, was she?

“She shot me in the back.” Nakita finally spoke.

“How do you remember that?” Ellie probably couldn’t recall every time she ended someone.

“I’ve been told I have a nak for faces.” She chuckled at the joke. “I was shot in the shoulder too.”

“After you killed her father.” Ellie growled.

Nakita laughed. 

“You think that’s funny?!” Ellie was furious. She stood from the bucket she was sitting on. 

Nakita pulled a milk crate from somewhere that was out of Ellie’s view and sat down. “You think I care that he was a father? Look around, we’re shitty people Ellie! I’ve got a list of people that want a piece of you! You’ve killed mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, wives, brothers, sisters, and every other family member under the sun. So don’t lecture me about taking lives.”

Nakita leaned back and crossed her arms. “You think you’re morally better than me? Then us? Do you even know how many are dead because of you? Huh? Cause I got a number. 86, 87 If you count the man that hung himself in the cell I was holding him in. How many did you personally kill.”

Ellie sat and glared at her. “I dunno. A lot, why does it matter to you?”

“Because, you and I?” She gestured between the two of them. “We’re not so different you and I.”

“Bullshit!” 

“Really? Don’t tell me you never tortured someone to save the ones you love. What about the people you love? Are they angels? Cause let me tell you something, this world is a place that weeds out the angels and saints pretty fucking quick.” Nakita was done. She was tired of this person pretending to be someone she’s not.

“Look at the demons. They are freaks and the only way we lived is we out freaked the freaks! Alright?” Nakita huffed.

“No, we are people.” Ellie thought back to Jackson. “Living again. Like before.”

“No secret you came from out of town. Because if you were always here we would have lost the war years ago.” Nakita told Ellie.

“Why do you keep complimenting me? You had me.” She growled.

“I only got you because of a trap. I see your skill. You…” she held a finger at Ellie. “I’ve lived my whole life trying to fit into this world. But you, you were molded by it. Forged by it.” Nakita’s face was serious without a grin or chuckle.

“You seem to fit in pretty well.”

“No, no I do not. Not like you. When outbreak day occurred I was a teen maybe? I still have plenty of the old world in me. But it did let me spread my wings if you will. You have first hand experience with that.” Nakita grinned at that part.

“So you get to torture people without consequence?” Ellie raised her eyebrows.

“Don’t you see? Nakita asked. “I’m not a basket case, this world is my habitat! And it’s yours as well, if only you chose to admit it. Like it or not it is.” Nakita’s voice trailed off.

“I’m not you.” Ellie seethed.

“No, I am you, and you are me.” Nakita said. “Live a domestic life, I dare you. See how long it takes before you snap like a dry twig. That is if you haven’t already tried it and failed.” She continued.

Ellie turned her head and didn’t say anything. Nakita tapped the bars with her knife. “I see you’re in denial. Let me guess. You always confront problems head on. Ready to fight I assume.” Nakita said 

Ellie remembered she was ready to fight Seth at the dance. Who cared about others seeing? When Abby and her had a fight she went out to fight. “You always solve your problems with violence, right?” 

“You don’t know anything about me.” Ellie said through gritted teeth.

“I know you want out.”

“So do you.” Ellie countered.

“See, common interest.” Nakita said. 

Ellie grunted and looked at where the water was filling. Nakita followed her glance into the hole. It was two inches at most. They’d be here for a long while.

**—Different-nonused-scene** . **———**

Finally Ellie and Dina were alone. No one else to ask questions or get in the way. Dina truly understood why the whole group might be clingy. Being in a brand new town and not knowing anyone but Ellie. But she was thankful they finally had their own place and could do their own thing.

Dina looked at Ellie, she was wearing her canvas sneakers and jeans. That damned green flannel she loved pulling off Ellie. She was also wearing thin black leather gloves.

She reached for them and Ellie pulled her hands away. Taking the gloves off. What caught Dina eye was the scar of teeth marks and cysts. 

“Kinda what my arm looked like. Before I mean.” Ellie said.

This was the first time since they got back that Ellie was in her own space with Dina. They were sitting on her bed.

“I don’t care. You’re here.” Dina rubbed her right hand, tracing the bite scar, she moved to rubbing the beginning of the tattoo but Ellie halted her from going up.

Ellie sighed and kept her left palm down, maybe she’d eventually tell Dina why she has a brand of a Seraphite symbol on her. 

“Ellie.”

“Hmm?” 

“I missed you so much.” 

“I missed you too.” More than you’d believe.” She hugged Dina and didn’t let her go. She missed her. 

“Ellie.” Dina hugged back. “Ellie, can I ask you something? Please.”

“You just did.” Ellie murmured.

Dina pulled away. “Ellie what happened to you?” Dina’s right hand touched the burn scar on her neck.

“Molotov happened when I got into Seattle. Covered the bite on my shoulder.” Ellie explained. A small smile was on her face. “Lucked out I guess.”

“This one?” Dina’s thumb moved over the faded scar on her cheek. 

Ellie’s eyebrows furrowed and she sighed. Her eyes closed for a long moment. When Dina’s thumb went over it again Ellie’s breath hitched.

“Ellie?” Dina’s voice was laced with worry. If getting lit on fire was dinner table talk then what caused this? Why was she so hesitant?

Ellie opened her eyes. “It’s nothing.” Ellie pulled Dina’s hand away. 

  
  
  



	42. Removed Scene

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last two entries I found buried in docs. 1 of the crew reuniting and 2 ptsd scenes.

Ellie was sleeping in the reclined passenger's seat. An extra shirt covering her face, to block out the light. The sun was starting to set and Ellie wanted rest, for when she did night watch.

They came up on a large wall and Manny slapped her side. “Wake up El, we’re here.”

Ellie shot it and looked out. It was just as she remembered it. She grabbed the radio. “Remember the guards in the watchtowers. It may be peaceful but it’s heavily defended. We’re coming up in military style trucks. No sudden movements.” Ellie warned.

They pulled up the gate and got out. The numerous heavy door slams were intimidating to those who could hear it. “That’s far enough! State your business!” A man yelled from the wall.

“I used to live here! Can I see Maria?” 

“Used too?” The man questioned.

Abby looked at Ellie. “You don’t know him? I thought you lived here for years.”

“And how long have I been with you? Must be new.” She reasoned.

“Enough whispering!” 

“Just let me see Maria!” Ellie demanded.

“She’s busy.”

“Tommy? Joel? Where’s Joel?” She asked.

“Look, they’re out. You clearly have been here before but we can’t take chances. A team is going to take your weapons before you enter. Then we’ll escort you inside.” He told her.

We’re safe, right El?” 

Owen nudged him. “We’ll be fine.”

Then a team came out. A kid no older than a teen came to her. He had a rifle in his hands. She didn’t recognize him. He seemed green. His stiff posture and tight grip on the gun.

“Why can’t we see Maria?” 

“This is our territory!” The kid said, waving his gun around and getting in her face. Clearly he was a newbie and thought he had a set because he had a gun. Damn thing had the safety on.

“Back off.” Ellie took a step forward. No matter who you were. Ellie wound never back down. This punk couldn’t do worse then the Seraphites. 

“You back the fuck off.” She shoved her back with his gun. 

Alice growled. Just as he raised the barrel to the dog Ellie grabbed it and bashed his nose in with the butt of the gun. She ripped it out of his hands and into her own. “Don’t you fucking hurt her.”

The others were about to hand over their weapons when the commotion was heard. They all backed up and raised their weapons. 

“Lower the guns or we shoot!” The man yelled.

“He started it.” Ellie growled but quickly realized what she was doing. 

“Ellie I thought you said it was peaceful!” Lev yelled.

“Working on it Lev!” 

Maria was talking about expansion when she got news of a group of what looked to be 6 out of 8 people all wearing clothes with WLF patches on them. They came in militaristic vehicles.

She started going to the front when shouting was heard and the gate was open.

She quickly went out with more men with guns. 

In the chaos of yelling and gun pointing she saw what had to be a hallucination. 

“This is not going to plan Ellie!” A Hispanic man yelled.

“Guns down! Everyone guns down!” She yelled.

“But they-“

“I said put your goddamn guns down Richard.” 

She turned to Ellie who turned to look at her. She was worse for wear with more scars and tired eyes. 

“Ellie?” Tears forming in Maria’s eyes.

Ellie lowered the gun before dropping it completely. They closed the gap between each other. Soon in a full embrace hugging each other. Maria holding Ellie, afraid it was all a dream. That if she stopped she’d wake up without Ellie in her arms.

“Everyone thought you were gone.” She whispered. 

After a moment they pulled apart. Ellie quickly wiped her eyes. Maria was less incognito using both hands to dry her tears. 

Then looked at the group in front of her. A bunch of new faces. 

Manny decided to break the tension. “I’m Emanual, but please call me Manny.” He walked over and extended a hand.

After everyone else did.

“Mel.”

“Owen.”

“Abby.”

“Nora.”

The last two were people that looked similar and had scars on their faces. The girl was missing an arm. Abby put a hand on their backs. “Come on, just an introduction.

Lev walked forwards and extended his hand. Unsure of just what to do with it. Luckily Maria did the rest, sending the nervousness of him. “I’m Maria.”

“Lev.” He walked back to Abby.

Yara slowly went forwards. “Yara.”

It was clear everyone was excused, both physically and mentally. She turned to the others. “Let them in!”

“Where’s everyone else?”

“Joel and Tommy are out. They’ll be back tomorrow afternoon.” She sighed. “Ellie, he’s been in pain ever since he got the news.” 

She felt extreme guilt starting to fill her heart. She was so scared about coming back, she didn’t consider what Joel would emotionally be going through. Not to this extent.

“What about Dina?” 

The trucks pulled up and parked next to the inner side of the wall. 

“I’m sure she’s already coming.”

Maria and Ellie looked up to see Dina staring at Ellie. Then she sprinted at Ellie jumping on her, nearly toppling the two of not for Ellie moving a leg back, bracing herself as Dina clung to her. 

“Ellie.” Dina cried into the crook of her neck. 

The scene reminded Manny of a soldier coming home from war. In a way it was true.

She got off Ellie and looked at her. “I saw you get bit Ellie. Bit right on the…”

She looked at Ellie’s left shoulder and neck. The burn scars were completely visible and she reached out, feeling them. Her other hand went over the scar on her cheek. 

When the scar went under her shirt she started pulling on the clothing. “ Ellie, how, how big is it?”

She was going to rip the collar of her shirt but Ellie stopped her from doing so. “I’m ok, I’m ok. Happened a while ago.”

“You, everyone thought you were gone. Ellie I mourned you! Jackson mourned you. How are you here?!” She cried.

“I told you, I’m immune.” Ellie cupped Dina’s face, wiping the tears from her eyes. 

“You had to be joking. But you weren’t.” She trailed off.

  
  


“You disappear for over a year and come back with a group?” She looked at the group of people awkwardly standing around. 

“Who are they, and what happened to you?” She traced the scar on her face and looked at her neck once more. 

—————-/——————  
  


It was supposed to be a good time. There was beer and fire and everyone was laughing. Cracking jokes and spending time with loved ones. 

Then someone started playing with an aerosol can and a lighter. The people that saw it cheered at it. It was dark so it was amazing to see. 

Abby I’m the other hand, was reminded of the beach. She didn’t look at the flame. She heard screams and shot her head up, looking for the source but everyone else seemed oblivious to the cries of agony.

Abby got to her feet and stumbled away from the fire. The stumble turned into a full-blown sprint. Then she fell and all she could hear was the screaming. “No. No!”

She fell to the ground. The dirt sapping the warmth from her knees and hands. She felt cold and empty as she sat there. She shut her eyes and pressed her forehead into the ground and tried to drown out the noise. 

“Abby. ABBY!  _ Abby.”  _ All she could hear was her name and the others she killed on the beach. Some she even considered friends. Others not. But the burning flesh and agonizing screams.

“Abby. Look at me.” She lifted her head to see Ellie on her knees in front of her. “Abby.”

“El, Ellie.” Abby reached out and touched her. Making sure it wasn’t just a hallucination. Ellie was here and in front of her. Solid to the touch.

“I’m here.” Ellie told her

Abby sat on the ground and nodded. Her heart was still beating out of her chest. “I just, It wasn’t. Umm the fire. I don’t know why I just.” 

“You don’t have to explain.” Ellie told her. “My place isn’t too far. Wanna stay the night?” 

Abby nodded again and pushed her legs under her to stand up. She shakily followed Ellie to her place. Small and cozy. A complete contrast to their place in the stadium. She liked that.

Abby entered the small area Ellie called home. She could see under Ellie’s bed. A box. She knew what was in there. A gun, belt, jacket and boots.

“You can take the bed.” Ellie pointed to the bed and sat on the couch.

“What? No it’s your place.” Abby sat next to Ellie.

Ellie didn’t move. Neither did Abby.

**————————————-**

Dina got the bright idea to drag Ellie by the leg to the river. No she wasn’t gonna but it would be funny to say she was gonna. After all she did promise her years ago she’d drag Ellie by the leg out of bed. She grabbed Ellie and started pulling.

“Come Williams! Or the river it is!”

“Gah! Ahh!” Ellie immediately went to fight or flight. Kicking the hand off her leg and pushing her way back. Seeing John pulling her. “Let go! Let go!” 

“Fuck!” Ellie continued to push herself back. “No, nonono!” She could feel all the times she was fucking in those horrid situations. John. Why was he here?!

Dina immediately dropped Ellie’s leg. “Ellie it was a joke.” Dina was interrupted by Ellie backing up and continuing her yells. “Ellie? Ellie?” 

The Saltlake group was actually looking for Ellie when they heard her. They followed the yelling as fast as they could to find Ellie in a PTSD attack.

Abby gave a quick glance at Dina before kneeling in front of Ellie. “Ellie, Ellie. They’re gone. Look at me, Ellie look at me.” 

She was moving her face in front of Ellie’s. “Ok? They’re gone. You did it alright? Ok? They’re not here. There, there you go.” Abby let a weak smile show.

She heard Abby. She heard her saying they were gone. They were gone. Left in Seattle to rot. She looked up to see Abby’s worried face. The Saltlake crew all looked worried behind her. Then Dina. “I’m ok. I’m ok.” She repeated.

Ellie stumbled to a stand. Nora put a hand out. “It’s ok, you-“

“I’m fine Nora!” She glared at the woman. “You too Mel. I’m fine.” Her heart was pounding and she was shaking. 

Dina stepped forward apologizing. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know that you…” she didn’t really know how to word this nicely. Had trauma? Had PTSD? Obviously, but if what?

“Dina I’m fine! Ok?” She pushed past everyone. “I’ve got patrol anyway. See you tonight.” She headed back leaving everyone in an awkward position.

  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This should be the official end of me on this story. Maybe I’ll see you in the future. At least you get to see another way of Ellie meeting. God I hashed it out so many times.
> 
> May your survival be long...


End file.
